EDINBURGH police have appealed for information from nme.com readers in helping them track down a gang of youths who attacked an Oasis fan before the band’s MURRAYFIELD STADIUM gig on Saturday (July 29).
The 17-year-old trainee bank officer from Easterhouse, Glasgow is in a serious but stable condition in Glasgow’s Southern General Hospital after undergoing major surgery to remove a blood clot from his brain on Sunday (July 30).
The youngster was hit on the head by a gang of between 10 and 15 English youths, half of which were female, who ran through the grounds of Donaldson’s College, a school for deaf children close to the venue. The school has a large playing field where hundreds of Oasis fans were milling about before the gig.
The assault happened at 6.15pm. The victim and his girlfriend, who was also injured after being hit in the mouth by a stick or other object, were taken to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary for an examination and he was released. They went to the concert and went home afterwards. Next day the boy’s parents noticed that he was acting strangely and took him to their local hospital for an examination, where doctors discovered a blood clot on his brain. He underwent emergency surgery to have it removed.
A spokesperson for Lothian And Borders Police said they believe many witnesses or other victims may not have reported the incident because they did not want to miss the gig. She said: “We know many more people were hit by this gang, but may not want to have been caught up giving statments and risk missing the gig. But there were hundreds of people there and we would like to hear from anyone who saw the incident, or anybody from the Leeds or Manchester. They were hitting people indiscriminately and seemed to be totally drunk.”
One woman in the gang was wearing a Manchester United top while another had a white football shirt on, which police believe was either an England or Leeds United shirt.
She added that they were working in conjunction with West Yorkshire Police in a bid to track down the assailants.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Edinburgh police on 0131 229 2323.