Boy left shaking after run-in with fleeing knifeman

A SCHOOLBOY has told how he came face-to-face with a knifeman – just moments after he had stabbed his neighbour.

The 13-year-old was walking home when he saw the man fleeing the scene of the attack in Magdalene Gardens.

The 43-year-old victim was stabbed after answering the door of his flat to the man at around 8.30pm on Sunday. He suffered serious injuries and is being treated in Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, with police treating the assault as attempted murder.

The victim's neighbour, who cannot be named, said her son had unwittingly stumbled on the attacker.

She said: "He was shaking in his room after it. It wasn't until the police came he said he had seen the man with the knife on the stairs."

The schoolboy added: "I couldn't speak – I was too shocked."

His mother told how she was in the bath at the time of the attack and heard shouting, but thought it was her son and his friends who were outside.

"When I got out the bath, it was quiet and the next thing I knew the police were at the door saying the man had been stabbed. I was shocked.

"The man just keeps himself to himself, you never hear him or see him and he never bothers anybody.

"You never hear anybody at his door, it's not like there's been trouble in the past.

"I've only seen him a couple of times and he'll say, 'hello, how's it going'. He seems nice enough. This is such a quiet stair, and elderly people live here."

Another resident, who lives in the area but didn't want to be named, said: "There were two police vans, an ambulance and a couple of police cars.

"The police were waiting on the dog handlers coming, so that kind of grabs everybody's attention. There was probably about 20 people out having a look."

The suspect is described as white, 6ft tall and 40 to 45-years-old, with a gaunt appearance. He was wearing a three-quarter length smart jacket and dark trousers.

Police said the attack was being treated as a random and unprovoked incident.

A police spokesman said: "This has been a vicious assault leaving the victim seriously injured in hospital. We are asking for anyone who was in the area at the time and may have seen something suspicious, to contact us as soon as possible.

"Alternatively, we would like to hear from anyone who recognises the description of the man responsible, or who has any information at all regarding the incident."

A spokesman for the Scottish Ambulance Service added: "We attended with the police and treated a patient who had been stabbed in the chest, possibly repeatedly.

"We took the patient to the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary. His injuries are not thought to be life-threatening."