Content advisory: this article includes graphic details of an accidental death. Please read with caution.
A shocking story emerged from Edinburgh, Scotland, on Saturday night, where a tragic bus accident shut down one of the city’s busiest nightlife districts, Cowgate Street. And now, false online rumors say it was a terror attack.
According to the Edinburgh Evening News, at around 7:30 that night, a 74-year-old man was struck and killed by a single-decker bus. Police say the man was decapitated in the accident, and passersby spotted his body and severed head in the street. Known for restaurants, pubs, and bars, Cowgate was particularly active on the first Saturday night after Halloween. Assuming it was a Halloween prop or prank, individuals picked the head up and shared pictures and videos of what they found on social media.
According to Edinburgh Live, someone there that night said, “Police were outside, and a severed head had been found in the Cowgate. I almost laughed because it’s Halloween weekend, and I thought it was a prank … the staff said, no, it’s real.”
She then said she saw three police cars, five police officers, and a small tent. “The police were taping off the area,” she added. “The whole area is sealed off. It just seems so surreal.” When the Edinburgh authorities arrived, they evacuated nearby restaurants, bars, pubs, and residences and closed the area, announcing the public should stay away.
Referring to the picture shared online, Edinburgh Chief Inspector Trisha Clark said, “We are aware of videos and images circulating on social media which are causing distress to the deceased’s family and those viewing them inadvertently.”
She added, “We would ask members of the public not to share them out of respect for his family and to report them to the relevant social media platform to prevent further circulation.”
No ongoing threat to the public
Edinburgh police also later said the cause of the accident was under investigation, but it was an isolated incident, and there was no ongoing threat to the public. One Cowgate-area bar owner, John “Mick” McWilliams, was rumored to be the victim, causing McWilliams to share a video on social media saying he was still alive.
Details of the wreck remain unclear, as is the sequence of events that left the man’s remains, including his head, lying on the road. But despite local authorities asking for restraint, baseless rumors still spread online. The tragic death of the elderly man and images from the horrific scene were used to falsely suggest that the man died in a terror attack, and that there was a police cover-up.
Two days after the accident, Edinburgh police said they believed the man was decapitated when he fell under the wheel arch of the bus. Pedestrian safety had long been an issue for Edinburgh city leaders in the Cowgate area. Plans to close the street to traffic were underway, but after the tragic accident, Edinburgh city councilors said the closure would happen “as soon as possible.”
In response to the baseless terror-attack rumors, one unconfirmed witness account on X said, “I was on Cowgate last night, this wasn’t terrorism. There was absolutely no panic around the area, no armed response. I don’t believe he got hit by a bus, but there also wasn’t a lunatic with a sword like some suggested.”
Published: Nov 5, 2024 03:44 pm