Teenage girl is shot in face during drive-by gun attack

Published on Saturday 26 January 2008 09:53

A TEENAGE girl was shot in the face with a pellet gun during a drive-by shooting in the Capital.

Arabella McDonald, 18, was walking with her boyfriend in Portobello when the shot was fired from a white Transit van.

The shopworker, who is on her gap year before going to university, was left shaken and police are now checking CCTV footage in an attempt to catch her attacker.

Miss McDonald, who lives in Morningside, was catching a bus with her boyfriend on Abercorn Terrace at around 1pm on Thursday when the shot hit her on the lip. She said: "They're obviously idiots and don't know the damage they could cause. I was lucky it didn't hit me in the eye.

"It was extremely painful. The only reason we know it was a pellet was because we found it on the ground.

"It was really sore and I didn't know what had happened at first."

Boyfriend Jordan McDonald, a 19-year-old student at Edinburgh University, said his girlfriend had been left in shock.

"I looked up and saw this white van coming towards us," he said. "Next thing I heard was a sort of bang and saw the pellet fall from her face.

"She almost started crying because she thought it had broken her tooth. She got a massive lump straightaway and she was really upset."

He added: "They must have thought it was funny – they saw a happy couple and then they aimed at our faces."

The couple, who got together four years ago while students at George Watson's College, immediately contacted police following the incident.

Mr McDonald's mother, Angela, said the young couple were thankful that they remained largely unscathed.

The 48-year-old guesthouse owner said: "I think it was awful and quite scary for them. It could have taken her eye out, which is frightening.

"The police have told us that they are going to study CCTV footage. We just hope this doesn't happen to anyone else."

Lothian and Borders Police are looking for two men in connection with the attack.

A police spokesman said the van was driving west on Abercorn Terrace at the time and was later seen on Portobello High Street.

"We ask for anyone who may have seen the van or anyone who may have witnessed the incident to come forward," he added.

Last week, Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill announced plans for a summit to be held in Edinburgh in an attempt to reform the law on air guns.