Man jailed for murder bid on two teenagers near beach
BBCAn armed attacker who tried to murder two teenagers in assaults caught on camera has been jailed for five-and-a-half years.
Amar Mudawi wounded his victims in attacks near Portobello beach in Edinburgh after they had met up with friends on 12 April 2025.
Mudawi appeared at the promenade with four others and walked directly to an 18-year-old to confront him.
The teenager backed away and a 17-year-old friend intervened to protect him and punched Mudawi on the head.
Mudawi, then aged 21, struck the 17-year-old in the neck with a bladed weapon before heading off in pursuit of his original target.
The 18-year-old fled into nearby Mentone Avenue seeking help and was seen on footage running up a garden path to a house
Mudawi and an accomplice followed him and, despite the victim pleading with his attacker to calm down, Mudawi repeatedly stabbed him to the head with a pair of scissors.
The victim could be heard screaming in pain as the assault continued with his attackers kicking and stamping on him.
Mudawi and the other attacker ran off to a waiting car, which drove off at speed.
Residents helped the injured victim and police were called, the High Court in Edinburgh heard.
The 17-year-old was found to have sustained a superficial stab wound to the left side of his neck, which was millimetres from the jugular vein.
The other victim had two wounds to his head and one at the base of his neck along with a fractured wrist.
'Horrified by his own actions'
Mudawi, from Portobello, earlier admitted assaulting and attempting to murder the teenagers while acting with others on 12 April last year at Portobello Promenade and at Mentone Avenue.
Judge John Morris KC told him he had pleaded guilty to two "very serious offences".
The judge said he took into account his age and his guilty pleas.
He told Mudawi, now 22, that following his prison term he would be on licence for an extension period of 18 months. During that time he could be returned to jail if he breaches the licence.
Defence counsel David Taylor said Mudawi was involved in an earlier confrontation with a group, which included the older teenager, before he received information that they were in the vicinity of his mother's address.
He said Mudawi had found the scissors in the glove box of a car he was a passenger in.
The defence counsel said: "It was never his intention to commit murder at any point."
He said when Mudawi was shown some of the footage he found it "really shocking".
Taylor said: "He was horrified by his own actions."
Det Insp Steven Dick said: "This was a serious and violent attack which could have had fatal consequences for the young victim.
"Violence of this nature will not be tolerated, and we continue to take action against those involved in such criminal behaviour."
