One man attacked and another threatened with a handgun in the city centre

Police are appealing for witnesses after two incidents in the city centre yesterday which saw one man threatened with a handgun and another attacked. 

At around 7.10pm yesterday, a 21-year-old man was walking along Paternoster Row where an unknown man approached him and hit him in the face. The victim received minor injuries, but had nothing taken from him.

Only five minutes later, on Matilda Street, a 20-year-old man was walking along with a friend when he was also hit in the face by an unknown man, causing him to lose a tooth. In this case it is believed his attacker was holding a hand gun.

Matilda Street, where a victim was threatened with a handgun

Detective Sergeant Graham Stead, the investigating officer, said: “We appreciate that these incidents are distressing and will cause a high level of concern, however they do appear to be isolated incidents.

“We believe they were carried out by the same offender whose motive for assaulting these young men remains unclear.

“Fortunately nothing was taken from the victims and no-one was seriously injured despite these being nasty and aggressive, unprovoked attacks.

“We would like to reassure the community that we are following a number of positive lines of enquiries, including CCTV, and carrying out additional patrols in the city centre.”

In both cases, the attacker is described as in his late 20s, around 5ft 8ins tall, of heavy build, with shaved hair and a round, full face. He was wearing a grey hoodie and dark trousers and spoke with a foreign accent.

If anyone has any information about either of the assaults, contact 101 quoting incident 974 or 984 of February 18 2016.