logo
Man who fled in dinghy charged following 'attempted murder' of police officer

Man who fled in dinghy charged following 'attempted murder' of police officer

STV Newsa day ago
A man who fled the scene in a dinghy has been charged after a police officer was stabbed in a murder bid in Inverclyde.
Police were called to reports of concern for a man in Greenock around 2.05am on Sunday in the East India Harbour area.
A disturbance took place and an officer was assaulted before the man made off in a dinghy.
A major operation was launched before he was subsequently arrested from a dinghy at Rhu Marina near Helensburgh.
The injured police officer was taken to Queen Elizabeth University Hospital for treatment to a stab wound, and remains in a stable condition.
STV News Forensics on the scene at Greenock harbour. STV News
Police said a 31-year-old man has been charged in connection with the attempted murder.
He is due to appear at Greenock Sheriff Court on Monday.
Superintendent Emma MacKay, said: 'The officer and his colleagues showed incredible bravery and professionalism during this difficult and challenging incident and I would like to thank them for their efforts.
'The incident was contained with no further risk to the public.
'We'd like to thank our emergency services colleagues and partner agencies who were on the scene and provided vital assistance during the incident.
'Our thoughts are with the officer, his family and colleagues at this time. We will continue to offer them all the necessary support.'
STV News is now on WhatsApp
Get all the latest news from around the country
Follow STV News
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

‘She stood up to men with machetes': Sandra Domínguez fought against femicide in Mexico – then became a victim herself
‘She stood up to men with machetes': Sandra Domínguez fought against femicide in Mexico – then became a victim herself

The Guardian

time13 minutes ago

  • The Guardian

‘She stood up to men with machetes': Sandra Domínguez fought against femicide in Mexico – then became a victim herself

On 4 October 2024, as a storm lashed the town of María Lombardo de Caso, in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca, Sandra Domínguez stopped answering her family's messages. After three days, Kisha Domínguez, her sister, knew something was wrong. She made the eight-hour car journey with their mother, Aracely Martínez Villanueva, from the city of Oaxaca. When they arrived, they found Sandra's home empty, her car abandoned. Her husband had also disappeared. Six months later, on 24 April, their bodies were found on a ranch 21 miles from María Lombardo. Sandra and her husband, Alexander Hernández, might have gone down as two more victims of the violence that grips Mexico, where roughly 30,000 people are murdered each year. But this time the case shot to national attention. Sandra was a feminist activist, known for helping the families of disappeared women and for twice rocking the political establishment in Oaxaca by denouncing powerful men involved in misogynistic WhatsApp groups. The uproar over her disappearance seemed to spur the investigation, leading to the discovery of the bodies – an exception in a country where most who disappear are never found. Yet, who murdered the couple – and why – remains unclear. Authorities claim Sandra was 'collateral damage' in a conflict between criminal groups. Her family, who now take care of her teenage daughter, believe her murder was tied to her activism. Sandra was born in San Isidro Huayápam, an Indigenous Mixe community in Oaxaca. She studied law at university, before founding the Liberal Union of Oaxacan Women, an association to promote women's rights. She spent time encouraging women from Mixe communities (also known as the Ayuuk), many of whom are relatively poor and marginalised, to get into politics. She also rescued women from domestic abuse. 'Sandra was a pioneer, a woman who stood up to men with machetes,' says a friend, who asked to remain anonymous for their safety. 'The authorities don't get involved in such things: they say they are marital problems. She always said we had to be fearless.' Sandra's activism sometimes set her against local, male-dominated political power structures. In 2020, she confronted them head on. When she found out about a misogynistic WhatsApp group in which politicians and officials shared intimate images of Indigenous women – including her – she blew the whistle. The ensuing uproar set back the careers of powerful men, who had to leave their jobs or give up candidacies for political posts. But it also cost Sandra career opportunities, says her family. 'Sandra paid dearly for denouncing that group,' says Kisha. 'She lost a lot of friends in politics.' The following year, she moved to María Lombardo, where she helped mediate relations between Mixe communities. She also kept up her activism, helping victims of rape and families of disappeared or murdered women. In 2023, she made national news again when she helped Aracely Cruz, a Mixe economist, denounce her ex-partner, Donato Vargas Jiménez, a powerful political figure in Oaxaca, for domestic violence – and for his participation in another misogynistic WhatsApp group similar to the one in 2020. 'Without knowing me, she came to my defence. She was the best friend I could have found in that moment,' says Cruz. After that, her family says Sandra received anonymous phone calls describing her movements and telling her they would be 'her shadow'. When Cruz won a seat in parliament in the 2024 elections, she wanted Sandra to join her team in Mexico City, but Sandra said no. Cruz says: 'I asked her if I had done something wrong. She simply said, 'No, just look after yourself.' And that left me worried. Why did she say that?' A few months later, Sandra, then 38 years old, disappeared. Sign up to Her Stage Hear directly from incredible women from around the world on the issues that matter most to them – from the climate crisis to the arts to sport after newsletter promotion After they arrived in María Lombardo, the family says they tried to file a missing person's report for Sandra, but local officials were unhelpful. 'They told us to wait a few days, to check that Sandra hadn't just gone partying,' says Kisha. In their desperation, the family began asking Sandra's neighbours if they knew anything, but say people were afraid to talk to them. They also say they were tailed by a red pickup truck. Friends told them it was not safe to stay in the town. On 8 October 2024, the government finally declared Sandra missing. And on 11 October, the family held a press conference in the city of Oaxaca to spread the word, and the case became national news. 'It took off because this was the woman who had denounced the WhatsApp groups. And all of us realised that if we let them take one of us now, they could take any of us,' says Yésica Sánchez Maya, director of Consorcio Oaxaca, a feminist organisation. In Oaxaca, the family led marches and set up camp outside the governor's office. They wrote a public letter to president Claudia Sheinbaum, while Cruz herself later held a press conference in Mexico City. The UN and international human rights organisations called for urgent action from authorities. The family have been critical of the investigation and when men on motorbikes began following them, taking photos, they felt they were being intimidated into silence. 'If it happened like this with Sandra, just imagine what it is like with other victims of forced disappearance who aren't so well known,' says Kisha. By the time the bodies were found in late April this year, the decomposition was advanced. The authorities told them it might take months to prove it was really Sandra and her husband, by finding DNA they could extract, or analysing the teeth. Unable to bear the thought of waiting, Kisha, who is a dentist, did it herself. 'They asked me not to, for the sake of my emotional and mental wellbeing,' says Kisha. 'But my wellbeing went to hell long before that.' In finding Sandra, the family says they have a bitter kind of closure that few families of the disappeared in Mexico find. 'It's not the way we wanted to find her,' they said in a press conference the day it was announced. 'But now she is home.' Yet, they may never know for certain who killed the couple and why. The authorities have asserted that Sandra's disappearance was related to organised crime, claiming that her husband, Hernández, 48, who disappeared alongside her, was a member of a criminal group. The family preferred not to comment on Sandra's husband, but were furious about the implicit 'criminalisation' of Sandra, and want the authorities to reconsider her activism as a line of investigation in her disappearance. Oaxaca is the most dangerous state in Mexico for activists. Since 2018, 58 people have been murdered and six more are missing. In Mexico, about 2,500 women are murdered a year, but less than a third are categorised as femicides even when there is evidence they should be. Less than a quarter of femicides are punished. Since Sandra was found, the family says they have had no update on the investigation. They want to continue speaking out, but are fearful: they say the tyres on their car have been slashed, and strangers sometimes take photos of their home. 'But I'd like this to mark a before and after: for women to be able to speak up without being silenced,' says Kisha.

Man in hospital after being hit by motor in Kirkintilloch car park
Man in hospital after being hit by motor in Kirkintilloch car park

Glasgow Times

time43 minutes ago

  • Glasgow Times

Man in hospital after being hit by motor in Kirkintilloch car park

Traffic cops are hunting for information following the serious collision in Kirkintilloch, East Dunbartonshire. The incident happened shortly after 2pm on Monday, August 4. The force said they received a report of a crash involving a Honda Jazz and a pedestrian in a car park on Shamrock Street. Emergency crews raced to the scene. After that, the pedestrian, a 92-year-old man, was taken to Glasgow's Queen Elizabeth University Hospital for treatment. Luckily, no one else was injured during the crash. However, during the incident, a section of the car park was closed while investigations took place. It reopened at around 5.30pm. In an image shared on Facebook, several police vehicles could be seen in Sainsbury's car park in the area amid the collision. READ MORE: Glasgow shopping street locked down amid 'stabbing' as man in hospital READ MORE: Police hunting masked man after early morning incident at store Sergeant Adnan Alam said: 'Our enquiries are ongoing and I am appealing for anyone with any information to contact us. 'I would ask anyone who was in the area and witnessed the crash who hasn't already spoken to officers, to get in touch. "I would also appeal to anyone who may have dash cam footage, which could assist.' A Police Scotland spokesperson added: "Anyone with any information is asked to contact 101 quoting reference 1950 of August 4, 2025." A Scottish Ambulance Service spokesperson said: 'We received a call at 2.10pm on Monday, August 4, to attend a road traffic collision on Shamrock Street, Kirkintilloch. "We dispatched three ambulances and a trauma team to the scene. We transported one patient to Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.'

Elderly man, 92, in hospital after being struck by vehicle in car park
Elderly man, 92, in hospital after being struck by vehicle in car park

STV News

time2 hours ago

  • STV News

Elderly man, 92, in hospital after being struck by vehicle in car park

A 92-year-old man has been taken to hospital after being hit by a vehicle in a Kirkintilloch car park. Emergency services were called to the car park on Shamrock Street around 2.10pm on Monday following the collision which involved a Honda Jazz car and a pedestrian. The 92-year-old man was taken to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital for treatment. There were no reports of other injuries. A section of the car park was closed for almost three hours and reopened around 5.50pm. Sergeant Adnan Alam said: 'Our enquiries are ongoing and I am appealing for anyone with any information to contact us. 'I would ask anyone who was in the area and witnessed the crash who hasn't already spoken to officers to get in touch. 'I would also appeal to anyone who may have dash cam footage which could assist.' Anyone with any information is asked to contact 101, quoting reference 1950 of August 4, 2025. Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store