A mate of mine was beaten up, in front of his wife, 4-year-old son and 18mth old daughter on Sunday intervening in a bike theft.
They'd been to David Lloyd's in Corstophine & were on their way our when they noticed a group trying to take a couple of bikes from the racks at the entrance. During the assault, my mate was attacked with a set of bolt croppers and knocked unconscious. The assailants then made off with the bikes, one of which was later recovered.
Thankfully my mate and his family are now ok, but obviously quite shaken up.
Edinburgh Police Division have an appeal for information on social media (strangely marked as a bike theft incident, rather than a serious assault) which you can read [url=
Hope he's ok but a bit stupid getting involved especially with his family with him.
Should have gone to reception and told them what was happening.
Hope is daughters arent too distressed seeing that.
Glad he's ok,hope they get the scumbags.
[i]bit stupid getting involved especially with his family with him.[/i]
damn, my money was on post 4 for this comment.
Glad your mate is ok.
It's easy to say he shouldn't have intervened, but in the heat of the moment a lot of us would do so. I always try to think whether I'm really prepared to intervene in this sort of thing before doing so, but often just go in hot-headed. Someone from another office was killed trying to stop someone stealing his car recently, it can end very badly.
I'm glad they've been caught and I hope they are dealt with appropriately, and I hope your mate recovers well.
bit stupid getting involved especially with his family with him.damn, my money was on post 4 for this comment.
My thoughts exactly. How dare he care about the fabric of society enough to put his safety in danger?
All it takes for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing.
I'm sorry it didn't turn out better, but please pass on my thanks and respect for doing the right thing. If he's that sort of person, he'd have felt just as bad (although not as bruised) if he'd done nothing.
Smashed in the head with some bolt cutters - could have ended with life in a wheelchair.
I'm sure his wife and family would love that for their remaining years. However, the person who had their bike stolen just buys another and gets on with their life.
There is a time to risk your life. Defending someone else's bike isn't that time in my oppionion.
Never intervene or get into an altercation unless you are prepared to go all the way. You have a choice to get involved or not. Once you get involved you might not have the choice of backing out again.
I expect the bloke thought if the thieves were confronted in a busy area in broad daylight, they'd just run off not attack him! Rough area?Hope he's ok but a bit stupid getting involved especially with his family with him.
These guys move pretty fast... bikes probably would have been gone by the time he got back to the front door!Should have gone to reception and told them what was happening.
Doubt he'll bother again mind. Sad state of affairs.
good on him, remind him that chicks dig scars and what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.
Aye, fair goes for trying to do the decent thing.
Edinburgh seems to be getting up there with Sheffield and Bristol for stolen bikes.
Hats off to him. Hope they all recover with no lasting issues.
That is terrible. Kudos to your mate for trying it
I'm not even sure what the best thing to do there is, what are reception going to do?
Call the police is a minimum I guess, take pics/video? What if they come at your for your phone then?
what are reception going to do?
Call the police.
Aim their cameras at the crime.
Get their security to step in.
[i]Get their security to step in. [/i]
It's a gym, not a nightclub.
Defending someone else's bike isn't that time in my oppionion.
what's an oppi-onion?
If you don't have the capacity for violence within you, talking will only get you hurt. I am glad, however, that people with a strong moral compass exist to stand up for the right thing to do. I hope his head is ok after.
Edinburgh is very bad for theft and no one seems to to have been caught in months.
4 on 1 I reckon I'd stand well back. Or summon up some roid ragers from inside the gym. But I can't fault anyone for making a stand, heat of the moment is everything. Hope he makes a full recovery and they catch the arseholes.
Fair play for having a go. I hope he makes a total recovery, and everyone is ok.
Its very easy to make a judgement from behind a keyboard, we weren't there.
Maybe you could suggest to David Lloyds that they might want to help in his recovery, good bit of PR and would keep the incident in the news.
Hope he recovers okay, glad there are people around willing to stand up to wronguns
Maybe you could suggest to David Lloyds that they might want to help in his recovery, good bit of PR and would keep the incident in the news.
I'm sure that what David Lloyd's would love is lots of publicity about violent gangs of bike thieves outside their premises stealing people's bikes and knocking their customers unconscious. Yep, they definitely will want that in the news as much as possible. 🙄
Definitely better to let it go with the benefit of hindsight. I was a bit luckier, while waiting outside Notting Hill tube one midweek lunchtime. Couple of lads helped themselves to a bike from the rack and I told them to leave it. THey only had to threaten me with the croppers and I decided calling the police might be a better plan.
Police didn't turn up, but the owner of the bike did. I explained where her bike had gone and just got a withering look as if to say, well why didn't you bloody stop them?
The exact same week I also got involved after watching some kids pushing a then-new KTM supermotard across a park in NW London, until I realised I was going to get a kicking from a load of 14 year olds so rang the police again. Who, naturally, didn't turn up so I gave up after waiting an hour.
Can't be bothered with all that again.
What a dickhead
What a dickhead
Que?
Hope your mate and his family are okay. There are some proper scrotes out there. Were they proper bikes or BSO's? I'd step up if a nice shiny bike was being stolen, but turn a blind eye if it was a BSO 🙂
Seems they were reasonably decent bikes. One was a specialized of some sort.
I'll pass on the good wishes to him.
que?
Watching your pa get beaten unconscious?
Not too psychologically scarring.
As others have said, don't put yourself in a situation you can't handle.. Over a flipping bicycle ffs!
Put your kids safety first surely?
Aye yunki, cos everyone knows that bike thieves attack children instead of getting away as fast as possible.
Civic responsibility is to be applauded in all forms. Crap thing to happen to your mate but if it's possible to be very proud of a head wound, he should be.