A senior police officer has said he is “surprised” that a serious assault in an Inverness bar remains unsolved.
But north divisional policing commander Julian Innes said he expects that officers will be able to find the man suspected of carrying out the assault in Hootananny on Church Street.
The apparently unprovoked attack on June 14 left a 25-year-old with serious facial injuries.
An investigation has been ongoing since the incident on June 14 but the assault remains unsolved, despite the alleged assailant being clearly visible in CCTV images from the pub.
North police commander Chief Superintendent Innes said: “It’s really unusual for us to have a serious assault in a licensed premise in Inverness.
“It seems to have been a single punch that’s caused that serious assault. Usually when we have acts of violence people know each other and it’s clear on this occasion they don’t know each other.
“That’s why we took the step of releasing the very good CCTV pictures from Hootenanny.
“It’s a very clear picture and I’m really surprised that nobody within the local area has been able to identify this guy for us. What I would encourage people to do if they do know this person and they’re worried about it call Crimestoppers and your identity will be protected.”
Mr Innes said one line of inquiry being followed is that the man may have travelled into Inverness on a stag-do or a weekend trip – and he warned that the suspect could strike again.
He said: “The fact we haven’t come up with a name locally is a surprise to me. We have obviously considered the option that this person may have travelled into the city for a weekend, he might be a foreign visitor although there’s no indication of that.
“If somebody without warning will lift their hand to another in a public place, I’d be very surprised if they haven’t done that before or they won’t do it again so I’m very hopeful that, even if the person is from outside this area then we’ll get him.”
The suspect is believed to be in his mid-20s to around 30-years-old. He appears to be about 6ft, with dark hair, gelled in a comb-over style.
On the night of the attack he was wearing a black or dark green T-shirt, dark jeans and black shoes with white stripes on the sides.
Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.