Community leaders in Lochee have spoken of their shock and dismay after a disturbance in a multi-storey block left one man dead and another charged with murder.
Angry crowds had formed outside Elders Court on Friday night as news spread about the death of a 44-year-old man in the 15-storey block.
Tayside Police have named him as Ronald Fraser, who lived at Elders Court. A 28-year-old man has been arrested and charged and is expected to appear at Dundee Sheriff Court on Tuesday.
Dundee lord provost John Letford, who represents the Lochee ward, said the whole community would be devastated by the incident.
“It is a great waste and obviously particularly hard on the family left behind and my thoughts are with them,” he added.
Fellow Lochee councillor Tom Ferguson said he had spent several hours up at the scene as the drama unfolded on Friday night.
“I was most interested in making sure the sheltered housing tenants were OK and I have to praise the concierges who had everything in hand.”
Saying it was “not a pleasant experience,” he added, “This was very upsetting and unsettling for the whole community. I didn’t know the dead man personally but I understand that he was well known in the area and was a likeable character.”Heading the police investigation is Detective Chief Inspector Shaun McKillop, who moved quickly to reassure residents.
“This has been an isolated incident in a block of flats,” he said. “A high-profile police presence will remain in the area providing public reassurance whilst inquiries are carried out.”
Lochee councillor Bob Duncan also stressed the importance of reassuring locals, saying, “A lot of very good and decent people live in that block and anything like this is totally devastating for the community.
“It is shocking for everybody. Even going past in the car and seeing all the police vehicles outside makes you realise it is a major incident.
“It is quite disturbing to know that this sort of thing can happen but I am reassured that the police are saying it was a one-off and hopefully, for the good of the community, things will return to normal quickly.”
However, one 84-year-old resident told The Courier she had been too scared to go out over the weekend.
The woman, who asked not to be named, said, “This is really shocking and it’s hard on the sheltered housing tenants like me because we are frightened to go out and to go in the lift.
“I am told that the police are all still here in the car park but I have not gone out at all myself.”