THE call was similar to the hundreds of others the emergency services in the Lothians had received in the past year – a summons to attend to another victim of Scotland's brutal blade culture.
Many of those victims have walked out of hospital unaided yet scarred. This one was not so fortunate.
He was a young father fatally stabbed in a residential Edinburgh street in front of his distraught partner and her young children.
Sean Hay
, who was looking forward to becoming a father for the second time, was knifed repeatedly by a gang of three men who fled the scene, leaving him dying in front of his family.
The 23-year-old was attacked at about 10:30pm on Tuesday in the Granton area.
His murder, which took place only a short drive from Scottish Government buildings, brings more pressure to bear on the elected officials to deal with escalating concerns over the UK's blade culture. Kenny MacAskill, the justice secretary, has said he will look again at sentencing, while Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister, has promised tougher measures.
Last night, officers with Lothian and Borders Police were still combing the streets of Granton and surrounding areas in an attempt to find the murder weapon or information about the three white men who perpetrated the attack.
A close friend of Mr Hay, who was also known as Sean Black, told The Scotsman: "You couldn't have got a better guy.
"His girlfriend was due a baby – she was four-and-a-half months pregnant. He's already got a young boy who idolised him. He was a really good father. His girlfriend has two young ones. It's awful."
The woman, who said she had known him for years but asked not to be named for fear of repercussions, added: "I was just speaking to him yesterday.
"He was looking forward to his baby being born. He was a really, really good guy with a heart of gold."
However, many of the locals said that Mr Hay was a heroin addict and that his death was drugs-related.
One resident said: "It is Bosnia here. Everyone is looking for drugs and can't get them and are taking it out on everyone else.
"They end up turning on each other because they are hurting and trying to get drugs. It's getting really bad – there have been lots of stabbings lately.
"Before that, you didn't really hear about it, but it was happening. I'm 41 and I'll not go out after 7pm."
The man, who asked not to be named, said children as young as 12 were taking drugs and arming themselves with knives because there was nothing else for them to do. He added: "There are blades, Stanley knives, anything with a blade – they can do whatever damage. Someone sticks it in you – they are so dangerous."
Detective Inspector Richard Thomas described the attack as "shocking" and urged anyone with information to contact them.
He said: "The fact there were two young children present doesn't appear to have discouraged the men from initiating the attack in any way.
"It was a relatively mild evening and we believe that there were a number of people who were in the area at around the time of the disturbance."
Mr Hay had been walking home with his girlfriend and her two children, who were in a pushchair, and was stabbed in the street. He then lurched to a doorway in an effort to get help, before collapsing. He was taken to the Western Infirmary by ambulance but died in hospital. Locals spoke of hearing shouting in the road.
Last night, a woman at the flat in the Muirhouse area of the city, where Mr Hay's mother, Veronica, is believed to live, refused to speak. Neighbours of Mr Hay's grandmother, Bessie, who lives in Granton, said she was being comforted at his parents' home.
Latest tragedy will intensify political pressure for tough action THE murder of Sean Hay comes just a fortnight after a young reveller almost died in a frenzied attack at Scotland's largest music festival.
The 22-year-old survived the campsite attack at T in the Park, but the incident added pressure on governments north and south of the border to act on knife crime. Mr Hay's death will only add to these calls.
Politicians across both geographical and party political borders have already called for jail sentences for anyone caught carrying a blade.
Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister, has said ministers should take "any legislative measures" necessary to tackle knife crime, arguing anyone over 16 caught with an illegal knife should be prosecuted. An automatic jail sentence for possession will be considered in Scotland as part of a criminal justice bill to be unveiled later this year.
Despite a spate of fatal stabbings in London this year, knife crime rates in Scotland remain about three times higher than those of England or Wales
Last year, 40 of the 73 murders in the Strathclyde Police area involved blades.
