Teen gets minimum 17 years for fatal Leith knife attack

A 17-year-old who killed John McNab in a Leith street attack will spend at least 17 years in custody, a sentence that puts fresh scrutiny on how Scotland handles violent youth offenders already released on bail.

The unnamed teenager was sentenced to life at the High Court in Dundee on Thursday, June 4, 2026, after admitting murder and an earlier assault with a knife. He had already pleaded guilty at the High Court in Edinburgh on Wednesday, May 6, 2026, to killing Mr McNab, 22, and to assault to severe injury over a separate stabbing months earlier.

Mr McNab was found injured at about 2.10am on Tuesday, September 2, 2025, at Great Junction Street and Bonnington Road in Leith, Edinburgh, and died at the scene. Prosecutors said he was socialising with friends after a cannabis deal went wrong, but that he played no part in the earlier drugs-related exchange that preceded the killing. They said the teenager arrived wearing a balaclava, was followed after an argument, hid in bushes, then chased Mr McNab with a large knife.

In court, the attack was described as an extreme burst of violence. Mr McNab was heard pleading with his attacker, saying, “Please, please don’t. I haven’t done anything.” After the killing, the teenager messaged a friend boasting that he had chased Mr McNab with “a big Rambo” knife and stabbed him repeatedly.

The case has sharpened questions about bail and the safeguards around violent youths. Police said the same teenager had stabbed another boy at The Promenade in Portobello on Friday, March 21, 2025, and was later released on bail by a sheriff at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on April 25, 2025. He was still on that bail when Mr McNab was killed.

Enhanced CCTV of the attack was shown in court, prompting some family members and friends to leave the room, several wearing T-shirts in Mr McNab’s memory. Police Scotland said the conviction sends a message to knife carriers that they will be apprehended and dealt with robustly. Superintendent Neil Wilson said officers are carrying out knife-crime patrols and youth education work across Edinburgh.

Mr McNab’s mother, Lisa Petrie, has since backed a campaign to keep knives under lock and key in shops rather than on open shelves. She said her son’s death has left a “gaping hole” in her life, and her petition has gathered more than 52,000 signatures. With a minimum term now set, the case is likely to intensify pressure for a tougher look at bail decisions, youth knife crime and the ease with which blades are bought in Scotland.