The Night That Shook Orkney
In June 1994, the peaceful Orkney islands were rocked by a murder that seemed more suited to an American crime film than the quiet Scottish archipelago. Shamsuddin Mahmood, a 26-year-old waiter from Bangladesh, was going about his duties at a Kirkwall restaurant when his life was brutally cut short.
At approximately 7:15pm, as the restaurant buzzed with evening customers, a chilling scene unfolded. A man wearing a balaclava walked calmly into the establishment, approached Mahmood while he was taking an order, and shot him in the head at point-blank range. The calculated nature of the killing left witnesses comparing it to a gangster movie.
The Baffling Investigation
Police immediately faced significant challenges. There was no obvious motive for the murder of Mahmood, who had arrived in the UK just three years earlier in 1991. Described as friendly and popular, the young waiter appeared to have no enemies who would want him dead.
The investigation took a dramatic turn when suspicion fell upon 15-year-old schoolboy Michael Ross. The teenager had been spotted in woods near Kirkwall two weeks before the murder, dressed in a balaclava that he later destroyed. Adding to the intrigue, Ross's father served as a police constable in Kirkwall and was involved in the initial inquiry - though he would later be jailed for withholding evidence.
Despite the compelling circumstances, forensic officers found no physical evidence linking Ross to the crime scene. The murder weapon was never recovered, and investigators could establish no clear connection between the schoolboy and his alleged victim.
A Decade-Long Pursuit of Justice
The case grew colder until, more than ten years after the murder, a new witness came forward claiming to have seen Ross in nearby public toilets with both a gun and a balaclava. This testimony revitalised the investigation and ultimately led to Ross's conviction in 2008.
By this time, Ross had built a different life for himself, having served in the British Army in Iraq and risen to the rank of sergeant. Despite being sentenced to 25 years for murder, he continues to maintain his innocence.
The case divided the Orkney community, with many struggling to reconcile the brutal crime with the teenage suspect. As one supporter told journalist Hazel Martin, who conducted a thorough three-part investigation into the case: "How could this have been a 15-year-old boy? It's not the kind of crime that is committed by a 15-year-old boy in Orkney."
To emphasise his youth, police had to remove Ross from a PE lesson when they first wanted to question him. Yet this was no ordinary teenager - officers discovered an extensive collection of firearms in his family home, including:
- Five pistols
- Two revolvers
- Three rifles
- A shotgun
His bedroom walls were covered with pictures of guns and tanks, and he owned a deactivated sub-machine gun given to him by his father.
Journalist Hazel Martin, who had access to witness statements and interviews with Ross, described it as "one of the strangest cases" newsroom colleagues had ever encountered. Even after a conviction was secured, the truth behind that June evening in 1994 remains as mysterious and baffling as ever.
