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Skye shooting tragedy sparks ‘urgent’ calls for more mental health support in rural areas

Calls have been made to ensure the proper support is in place for the communities rocked by the Skye tragedy.

John Mackinnon was shot dead at his home less than an hour after his sister-in-law Rowena Macdonald was stabbed.

The 32-year-old was airlifted to hospital in Glasgow.

In a third incident, 50 miles away in Dornie, osteopath John Don Mackenzie was shot and his wife Fay injured.

Mr Mackenzie, 63, remains at Raigmore Hospital in a serious condition. His wife, also 63, has been discharged from Broadford Hospital. It is believed their son, shinty player John Don junior, is flying home from his honeymoon to be with them.

A 39-year-old man has been arrested.

Skye
John Mackinnon died and Rowena MacDonald, John Don Mackenzie and Fay Mackenzie were injured in three linked incidents on Skye.

‘Rural communities have their own kinds of pressures’

Skye MP Ian Blackford has called for a review of gun control, but other island leaders say there are other “issues” – such as better support and mental health facilities urgently needed for remote areas.

Councillor John Finlayson said: “We have to be concerned about gun control, but my understanding is that gun control is quite tight, and you have to have certification.

“But my understanding at this time is that that’s probably not the central issue here. There are many other issues that we need to be looking at and the other kinds of support needed.

“All too often we say a lot of the issues we have around mental health and other issues in society don’t impact rural communities, but that’s not the case.

“We’ve got to realise that rural communities have got their own kinds of pressures and their own issues that need attended to. I’m sure that all the public services will look at this as a learning curve and we will look to support people across the spectrum in any way we can.”

Councillor John Finlayson at today’s meeting in Kyleakin. Picture by Jason Hedges/DC Thomson.

‘Repercussions of this are here for a long time’

Mr Finlayson, who represents Eilean a’ Cheò, was speaking at Kyleakin ahead of a joint police and council briefing.

He stressed that while it is important help is made available immediately for people, there needs to be lasting support for when people are ready to talk.

“In all our communities, we need to make sure that we’re supporting each other, as well as supporting those who have been involved.

“It’s important that we shouldn’t be putting pressure on anyone to talk or speak about the incident yesterday, but we need to be there for them when they want to do that.

“We need to make sure that we’ve got support in place for the young people who have been involved and the wider families, because the repercussion of this are not going to go away today or tomorrow, or even in a month’s time – they’re going to be here for a long time.

“We need to now look at what lessons we can learn from what’s happened here.

“Once again, the people of the Highlands and west coast have come together. This is a tragic situation, but the resilience of the west coast communities again is coming through, and the support that I know they’re offering to the families and to each other. We need to make sure that we’re all there for each other at any time.”

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