Police have said they have a positive line of inquiry following the death of a man in the Muirton area of Perth.
Six police vehicles, including an incident support unit, attended at Dunnock Park in the early hours of Saturday morning following the grim discovery of a male, who was understood to have suffered stab wounds.
The dead man has been named locally as Dougie Anderson, 39 – understood to be a family man with a partner and children who worked as a local taxi driver.
Police have not confirmed if they are treating the incident as murder but have said it is “suspicious” and that they have a “positive line of inquiry.”
Several local residents claimed the man had been stabbed and said officers are looking for the person responsible for the death.
Police are still carrying out door-to-door inquiries in the area. They had previously cordoned off a large corner of grass outside the front of a property with tape.
One part of the ground had tarpaulin over it.
The local community were understandably shocked with several saying the first they knew of the incident was when police knocked on their doors around 4am on Saturday.
A woman, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “We heard a man had been found with stab wounds. It seems to be murder as far as we can tell as the police are clearly looking for someone and they are scouring the neighbourhood for signs of a weapon.”
Another neighbour added: “Officers came to my door around 4am and there were loads of police cars here – it was pandemonium. Obviously, something awful has happened but we don’t know what took place.”
And a man who lives across the street from the incident commented: “I woke up this morning to look out of my front window and was met with the sight of loads of police vehicles. This is normally a quiet area so I was shocked to see all the police standing guard and the area taped off.”
One resident claimed police had used a dogs team when they arrived at the scene around 3.30pm.
A police spokesperson said officers arrived with crew from the Scottish Ambulance Service in the early hours of Saturday morning following the suspicious death of a 39-year-old man.
“Sadly, the man was pronounced dead a short time later,” he said.
And Detective Inspector Gary Winter, who is leading the investigation, added: “Our inquiries are at an early stage and police will remain in the area while we establish the exact circumstances leading up to this man’s death.
“We are following a positive line of inquiry, and I would like to stress that this was a contained and isolated incident with no threat to the wider public.
“I would also appeal to anyone with information – no matter how insignificant you think it might be – to please come forward. In particular, I would appeal to anyone who saw or heard anything in the early hours of this morning in the lead-up to emergency services being called to let us know.
“Thank you to the local community for your patience while inquiries are carried out – your co-operation is much appreciated.”
Anyone with information can phone Police Scotland on 101 or contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.
