DRUG WAR FEARS IN CAPITAL AS MAN IS SHOT IN THE STOMACH

A Teenager was being treated in Edinburgh Royal Infirmary last night,
following the second shooting within months on a housing estate in
Edinburgh. The 19-year-old was shot in the stomach with a single
bullet, amid claims that the shooting is linked to an escalating drug
war in the capital.

Police investigating the shooting have been unable to trace any
eye-witnesses to the incident, which happened at about 9:30pm on
Sunday in Broomhouse Crescent.A cordon was still in place around the
street last night, while door-to-door inquiries were carried out.

Lothian and Borders Police said they wanted to reassure residents that
patrols in the area had been stepped up since the incident, but they
refused to link it to any other incidents in the city.

Local sources said the shooting was directly related to an ongoing
feud between drug gangs from north Edinburgh and others from Gilmerton
and the Inch on the south side, who have ties to dealers in the
Broomhouse/Saughton area.

One theory being explored by the police is that the teenager may have
shot himself. There have already been claims that gang members staged
the shooting of a private hire cab in the Granton area.

Broomhouse was rocked in September after a shooting incident outside
The Gauntlet bar. It was thought to be linked to the firing of shots
at the cab only days earlier.

Members of the rival groups are said to be involved in the heroin and
cocaine trade. Other alleged incidents include two gunmen on a
motor-cycle firing shots from a semi-automatic pistol at a man sitting
in a van in Broomhouse Loan. Then another man had two shots fired
through his front window in Craigmillar.

It is thought that the victim of Sunday night's shooting had tried to
run to his mother's home in nearby Saughton Mains Place for help
following the shooting.

One neighbour, who asked not to be named, said: "I live right above
where it happened. I looked out my window about 10pm and there were
police everywhere.

"I've lived here for 22 years and it's not the first time something
like this happened," said the neighbour. "It's usually got something
to do with drugs."

A police spokesman said the force was keeping an "open mind" on
Sunday's incident.

He added: "We are keen to speak to anyone who was in the area last
night and saw or heard anything suspicious."

Keith Bell, the secretary of Sighthill, Broomhouse and Parkhead Community
Council, told The Scotsman: "This was clearly a serious incident on Sunday
night, but we genuinely don't believe it is reflective of the general levels
of crime in the area, which have fallen significantly over the last few
years. The community has worked very hard to improve the reputation of the
area."

The local Labour councillor, Eric Milligan, said: "Broomhouse received
special attention from the police over several years. Clearly these
things need to be kept under review and there may be a case for
greater vigilance from the police."