The weapon focus effect occurs when crime witnesses focus on a weapon, impairing their memory of the perpetrators face. The present study explored the effect on the weapon focus phenomenon of the weapons location in the crime scene. Participants viewed a video of a staged assault containing a weapon in the center of the visual scene, on the visual periphery, or no weapon at all. We expected that the peripheral weapon would draw attention away from the face, exacerbating the effect. Lineup recognition accuracy was poorer when a weapon was present. Recognition accuracy was not affected by the weapons position. Participants confidence ratings were lower when the weapon was in the visual periphery than when there was no weapon.