Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
City street assault: ‘man held by cops’
A MAN is believed to have been held in connection with a vicious street attack which left a former Dundee FC development player in a critical condition in hospital.
Emergency services were called to Old Hawkhill in the early hours of Sunday after a man — believed to be in his twenties — was struck by another male.
It is understood there was an argument between two groups of males around 2am.
One person was hit in the face and fractured his skull after crashing on to the pavement.
The man, named locally as John Black, was taken to Ninewells Hospital with serious injuries after he was found unconscious by paramedics.
He is currently still in hospital with life-threatening injuries.
John previously played for Dundee FC’s development team. A spokesman for the club said today: “We have been made aware of the situation and our thoughts at this time are with John and his family. We are hoping he makes a speedy recovery.
“John was a popular member of the development squad during his time here.”
John left the club in the summer of 2016.
He was a midfielder and his only first team appearance came in Julian Speroni’s testimonial against Crystal Palace in May 2015.
Two days after the assault, Police Scotland have not yet released any information about the incident. The force did not respond to queries today, despite requests from the Tele.
A senior councillor has called on the police to clarify what had happened after some residents were advised to remain in their homes.
West End councillor Fraser Macpherson said: “I have contacted Police Scotland, namely the locality inspector, to get some background on the incident and assurances as to how this was handled.
“Residents would naturally be nervous when they are advised by emergency services to stay indoors without further information. It’s important to get some clarification on the lack of information.”
A Scottish Ambulance spokeswoman said: “We received a call at 2.32am and arrived on scene at 2.38am.
“We found an unconscious male bleeding from the head and took him to Ninewells Hospital.”