A police officer today told a jury how he tailed then Tasered a suspected gunman following a deadly shooting and stabbing on Skye.
Sergeant Christopher Tait was giving evidence at the trial of Finlay MacDonald, who has denied murdering his brother-in-law at his home on Skye on August 10 2022.
The police officer said he crossed paths with MacDonald’s silver Subaru Impreza as he responded to two separate reports of a stabbing and shooting on the island.
MacDonald, 41, is also accused of attempting to murder his wife Rowena, 34, by stabbing her at the family home on the island and attempting to murder John and Fay MacKenzie in a shooting at their home in Dornie on the same day.
The 36-year-old officer, who was a police constable at the time, said he was in his marked vehicle and was initially instructed to attend a report of a stabbing at Tarskavaig but received an update that there had also been a shooting.
He told the High Court in Edinburgh he was passed information about a vehicle belonging to MacDonald and said: “I spotted the accused’s vehicle going past me.”
He did a three-point turn, contacted his control room and began to follow the Subaru before he was joined by a colleague, Inspector Bruce Crawford, in another car.
Advocate depute Liam Ewing KC asked him how the Subaru was being driven and he said: “It appeared to be driven in a normal fashion within the rules of the road and was within the speed limit in my view.”
They followed the car for seven to eight miles, travelling over the Skye bridge and to Dornie where the driver sped up before stopping at the home of osteopath John Donald MacKenzie and his wife Fay.
Mr Tait said he saw the driver at the top of a driveway holding a firearm and aiming through a window of the house before the weapon was fired.
MacDonald went into the house and the police officers ran up the driveway and shouted on him to drop his weapon before a Taser was fired at him.
MacDonald has denied attempting to murder Mr MacKenzie by firing a shotgun at him and striking him on the body to his severe injury, permanent disfigurement and to the danger of his life.
He has also denied attempting to murder Fay MacKenzie by repeatedly firing a shotgun at her and striking her on the head and body to her severe injury, permanent disfigurement and to the danger of her life.
Defence counsel Donald Findlay KC asked if it was only when the gun was fired and the man went into the house at Dornie that he and the inspector made a run towards the house and he said: “Yes”.
He said: “I believe I heard shouting and screaming from the house as we were running towards it.”
The officer said he discharged his Taser twice at the gunman.
He said the male occupant of the house was on the floor and had a large amount of blood around his abdomen.
A woman was also there with “obvious facial injuries” who was screaming at the accused.
Second officer’s evidence
Inspector Bruce Crawford also gave evidence and described the scene outside the Mackenzies’ home.
He said he saw the Subaru driver in possession of a shotgun at the house and he formed the opinion that he was there to cause harm to the occupants of the address.
He said: “I started making my way towards him. It was at that point a lady came out of the side door of the house.
“I just shouted as loud as I possibly could to try to get his attention. I was shouting at the lady ‘get back in your house and lock your doors’.”
The inspector said the woman ran back inside and he saw the man bring the shotgun up to an aiming position on his shoulder before he fired through a window.
He shouted at him telling him to put the gun down but the man loaded the gun again before he headed into the house.
Gunman struck with baton
Inspector Crawford followed him into the house and heard two loud bangs and a woman screaming.
He found them in the hall with John Don Mackenzie bleeding heavily from his side grappling with the gunman and Fay Mackenzie was also bleeding.
He said the lady in the house was trying to get him off her husband and struck him with a metal toilet holder.
Inspector Crawford said he used PAVA spray on the attacker but it did not seem to have an effect before he struck him with a baton while his colleague used a Taser.
The court earlier heard that the sister of MacDonald was not aware her brother was autistic before he shot her husband dead in front of her infant son.
Lyn-Anne MacKinnon said she was aware her sibling Finlay could be “quite socially awkward” and added: “I am aware he had some strange ways of thinking, strange views.”
Mrs MacKinnon, 45, whose prerecorded evidence was played to the jury, said: “I am aware that he could be quite socially awkward.”
She told Mr Findlay that she did not know that her brother was bullied at secondary school.
During questioning, the defence counsel said jurors would become aware that on August 10 2022 her brother came to her house and when he left he had shot her husband.
She said: “Yes, in front of my three-year-old son.”
The trial will continue next week.