TWO men are today still in hospital with serious injuries after an outbreak of violence saw three attempted murders and an armed robbery � in less than 15 hours.
TWO men are today still in hospital with serious injuries after an outbreak of violence saw three attempted murders and an armed robbery - in less than 15 hours.
Detectives probing the crime spree, which hit a Renfrewshire town, are treating all the attacks as separate and have appealed for witnesses.
In the first incident in Johnstone, two men were seriously assaulted outside the Silver Tassie on High Street.
The unprovoked attacks came as the men - aged 39 and 44 - were leaving the pub around 1.15am on Saturday.
Other customers intervened to help the victims, who were not together.
The 44-year-old is still in Glasgow's Southern General Hospital with serious head injuries.
The 39-year-old was released after treatment for facial injuries in the Royal Alexandra Hospital.
Police said they were keen to talk to one witness, thought to be a postal worker, who helped administer first aid.
The suspect disappeared after the attack. He is described as in his mid-20s, of stocky build, with short fair hair, and wearing grey clothes.
Detective Sergeant Martin Crawford said: "This appears to be a vicious and unprovoked attack on two men outside the Silver Tassie. The men were not together and this is being treated as two separate attacks."
Later in the day, a 34-year-old man was attacked by a group of teenagers in Maple Drive.
He was taken by ambulance to the Royal Alexandra Hospital where he is still in a serious condition.
Two youths, aged 16 and 17, have been arrested in connection with the incident, which happened around 2.45pm.
They are expected to appear in Paisley Sheriff Court tomorrow.
Just over 30 minutes after the Maple Drive incident, a man brandishing what appeared to be a firearm entered Top Cards in the town's High Street and demanded cash from two female staff.
He escaped with a three-figure sum.
No firearm was discharged and the women were not injured during this incident, but they were left badly shaken.
The suspect is in his late 40s, around 5ft 6in, slim, and was wearing a green jacket and a woolly hat.
