Jeweller tells how he fought off axe-wielding robbers
Miena Jewellery was robbed of items thought to be worth five-figures on Saturday morning
Last updated 3rd Sep 2019
A jeweller in Leith has told Forth News how he fought off three armed robbers by throwing a chair at them and spraying a fire extinguisher in their faces.
Wail Al-Khamis was inside his store, Miena Jewellery on Saturday morning around 11am when three men smashed through the window holding a sledgehammer and axes.
They tried to strike Wail with an axe but he fended them off, badly bruising his wrist in the process.
The 55-year-old used a fire extinguisher kept at the back of the store, spraying it at his attackers to get them to leave.
A fourth man was waiting in a black VW Golf outside and they made off with jewellery thought to be worth a five-figure sum.
Mr Al-Khamis said: "I see the guy coming with a big axe and he said "I will kill you" and there's another two guys behind him.
"Then I started to throw the things in their faces and started shouting, the people they're screaming "Robbery! Robbery!", they tried to call the police.
"The guy tried to hit me with the axe first, I avoid it. Second hit, I just push the axe with my left hand and got this serious injury, then after that I hear the smashing of the windows and them grabbing things.
"I jump in the back and grab my fire extinguisher and I sprayed it in their faces."
He went on to say that his reaction to defend himself was an instinctive one and that he would do it again. He explained:
"It naturally kicked in because we are hard workers, we are people trying to make a living in this hard time.
"It's related to money yes, but it's related to dignity and respect and everything.
"I was shocked when I saw a guy in the middle of the morning in the heart of Edinburgh holding a big hammer and a big axe with another two guys, walking from there to here saying "I will kill you". Why?"
Detective Inspector Mark Lumsden from Gayfield CID called the incident a "brazen and extremely shocking robbery".
Police are continuing enquiries and no arrests have been made yet.
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