Pictured: Sudanese asylum seeker shot dead by police after going on knife rampage in Glasgow hotel
Pictured: Sudanese asylum seeker shot dead by police after going on knife rampage in Glasgow hotel
- Badreddin Abedlla Adam, 28, wounded 6 at Park Inn Hotel, including hero Constable David Whyte, 42
- Adam is thought to have arrived in the UK six months ago via France after fleeing persecution in Sudan
- Friends said Adam, who previously stayed in Belfast, suffered from mental health issues and was ‘miserable’
- A friend said Adam was badly treated at the hotel on West George Street and would ‘vomit every time’ he ate
By Jemma Carr and Shekhar Bhatia and Amelia Wynne For Mailonline
Published: 10:52 EDT, 28 June 2020 | Updated: 12:18 EDT, 28 June 2020
Sudanese asylum seeker Badreddin Abedlla Adam who was shot dead by police after stabbing six people during a knife rampage in a Glasgow hotel has been pictured for the first time
The Sudanese asylum seeker who was shot dead by police after stabbing six people during a knife rampage in a Glasgow hotel has been pictured for the first time.
Badreddin Abedlla Adam, 28, wounded six at the Park Inn Hotel, including hero police officer Constable David Whyte, 42, in a crazed rampage on Friday.
All six people are still in hospital with one victim in critical condition.
Friends said Adam was suffering from mental health issues, made worse by being isolated in his room, and was ‘miserable’.
One fellow asylum seeker said Adam was convinced that the other residents in the hotel were deliberately making noise through the walls to annoy him and said he would ‘stab them’ in response.
Another friend told The Sun he ‘displayed symptoms of paranoia which grew over his time at the hotel’.
The friend added: ‘He thought everyone hated him.’
Adam is understood to have arrived in the UK six months ago via France after fleeing persecution in Sudan. He is believed to have preciously stayed in Belfast.
A friend of the attacker – who gave his name as Almadi – told Sky News that Adam’s family are ‘shocked’ at his actions which do not reflect the ‘mentality’ and ‘moral nature’ of his Sudanese community.
Almadi said Adam was badly treated at the hotel on West George Street. He claimed the food caused him to ‘vomit every time’ because it was so poor.
Less than two hours before he launched his knife rampage, Adam spoke to his solicitor via the phone. He said he was suicidal and complained about the accommodation.
The solicitor said he would contact the Home Office but the attack was launched just minutes later.
Almadi said Adam was upset when they met a week before the attack, but gave no suggestion that he was at risk of hurting others.
But Almadi said he did hear that – on Thursday night – Adam asked whether he could stab the other guests in the hotel.
Adam was urged not to do this and a community member was called. Some people went to the hotel’s reception desk to warn them of Adam’s potentially-harmful thoughts, Almadi said.
The Park Inn Hotel has been hit by claims of poor conditions in the past.
Residents say they were forced to share bathrooms – something that made social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic impossible and worsened mental health issues – and had their £5 financial support withdrawn.
Earlier this month, asylum seekers who had been ripped from their homes and placed in several hotels in the city held a demonstration to protest what had been dubbed ‘cramped, degrading and unsafe’ conditions.
Around 20 residents in Ibis Hotel, McLays Guest House as well as Park Inn in Glasgow refused food all together in protest.
Another friend Abdal Nasser, 22, told of his shock at seeing the ‘loner’ standing with a knife after six people, including Mr Whyte, had been stabbed.
PC Whyte said he was ‘confronted by a scene I’d never forget’ after racing to the knife rampage at around 1pm on Friday.
He is thought to have been the first officer to arrive at the hotel – two minutes after the carnage began.
Adam, 28, wounded six at the Park Inn Hotel, including hero police officer Constable David Whyte, 42. Friends said he was suffering from mental health issues and was ‘miserable’
David Whyte, 42, was stabbed in the Park Inn Hotel in Glasgow on Friday after racing to save victims. Today he has thanked his colleagues for their bravery
Forensic officers were at the scene in West George Street, Glasgow, on Saturday after a man was shot by armed police
Friends said Adam was suffering from mental health issues, made worse by being isolated in his room, and was ‘miserable’
In a statement today he said: ‘As the first responders on scene, myself and my colleague did what all police officers are trained for to save lives.
‘I would like to thank my colleagues who put themselves in harm’s way to contain this incident and assist with the vital treatment given to myself and others at the scene by other emergency services.’
Sources said the officer was stabbed repeatedly as he tried to overpower the knifeman and save other victims.
PC Whyte played football in a local police team. His wife is called Carol and they have two children.
Three of the other people who were injured are asylum seekers, Police Scotland said, while two are members of staff. All remain in hospital, one in a critical but stable condition, the others in a stable condition.
Mr Whyte added: ‘Despite suffering serious injuries myself, I know that the swift actions of colleagues saved lives and prevented a far more serious incident.
‘I would like to thank the medical staff at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital for their outstanding care in the hours following this incident.
‘Finally, I would like to thank the public for all their kind messages of support and for the good wishes from all at Police Scotland. It means a lot and has brought both myself and my family great comfort at this difficult time.’
Police officers attend the scene after reports of a stabbing rampage in a central Glasgow hotel at around 1pm on Friday
All six people are still in hospital with one victim in critical condition. Pictured: Police at the scene of the attack on Friday
Constable David Whyte, 42, was one of six people injured during the incident at the Park Inn Hotel in West George Street on Friday, in which a male suspect was shot and killed by police. He is pictured with his wife Carol
In a statement posted on Twitter by Police Scotland, Mr Whyte said the scene officers attending the incident were confronted with is something he will never forget. He is pictured with his wife Carol
Police today responded to a second Glasgow knife attack which witnesses was a repeat of Friday’s frenzied blade rampage.
Police rushed to the scene in Glasgow city centre at lunchtime after reports of a stabbing just a few streets away from where Adam was shot dead
An eye-witness, who asked not to be named, told Mailonline: ‘It was horrible. I heard screams and saw the man lying on the ground. He had been stabbed on both legs and there was blood on the pavement.
The alleged knifeman’s friend, Siraj, (pictured), 22, an asylum seeker from Yeman, told Mail Online that he had a conversation with Badradeen the night before the bloodbath at the Park Inn hotel in Glasgow city centre
‘An ambulance crew attended to him and took him away. But the screams have stayed with me.
‘I was worried it would be a repeat of what happened on Friday, but it had nothing to do with asylum seekers.
‘I think there had been some sort of argument and next thing the man was left bleeding on the ground. I am in shock.’
Meanwhile, Siraj, another friend of Adam, told Mail Online he had a conversation with Adam the night before the bloodbath. Siraj, 22, an asylum seeker from Yemen told Mail Online: ‘He told me that he was fed up. He had been in the hotel for three months. There was no daylight in his room and he was very angry.
‘He said that he was going to attack two guys in the room next to his because they’re were making noise to deliberately annoy him. ‘
Siraj added: ‘I said ‘No No No’ and that it was just that the hotels walls were thin and it was just noise.’ But he said Adam had told him: ‘No. They hate me. And I hate them. I am going to stab them.’
Siraj said: ‘I didn’t think he would actually do anything.
‘But I did go to the hotel supervisor and make a report. The next morning at around 9.30 the hotel talked to me and took down the details of what he had said he was going to do.
‘I then went to sleep I was only woken up by the fire alarm and then when I came down I just saw the blood everywhere. I couldn’t believe he had done it.’
Witnesses described a ‘bloodbath’ at the hotel which began in the reception area, where a member of staff crumpled to the floor ‘gasping for air’ after being stabbed. Adam is then thought to have run through the hotel knifing residents on the stairs and in the lift.
One witness called John, a former policeman, said he heard screaming and rushed downstairs. ‘I opened the door of the lift and there was blood all over the walls. I took the stairs, went down and the reception was full of blood,’ he said.
Armed police wore helmets and facemasks as they stormed the street at the height of the incident at Park Inn in Glasgow
Immigration Enforcement officers arrive at the scene in West George Street, Glasgow, where a man has been shot by an armed officer after another officer was injured during an attack
Police and forensic officers are pictured at the scene with medical incident officers as an investigation into the stabbings began this evening
Police Scotland, which has said the attack is not being treated as terrorism, has launched an appeal for any witnesses to come forward.
Officers were called to the hotel at 12.50pm and the incident was ‘quickly contained’, the force said.
Armed police rushed to the scene where they cornered Adam and shot him dead.
Images later showed PC Whyte lying on the pavement as passers-by tried to staunch the bleeding from his wounds.
Following an update from Police Scotland on Saturday, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon tweeted: ‘My thoughts today remain with Constable Whyte – whose bravery we are all deeply grateful for – and the other people who sustained injuries in yesterday’s terrible incident. I wish them all a full and speedy recovery.’
Police guarded the scene as a large cordon was set up around the scene following the tragic killings of at least two people
A man is led away by police officers at the scene. The hotel is one of six in Glasgow that have been used as accommodation for up to 300 asylum seekers during the coronavirus crisis. It is understood 100 were in the Park Inn at the time of the attack
Passersby were asked to leave the area by officers as Glasgow city centre was put under lockdown with a large cordon around the crime scene
The Park Inn hotel was being used to house asylum seekers. All of those injured are aged between 17 and 53.
Siraj told ITV: ‘He said ‘I will attack’ so everyone should take it seriously.
‘I told him ‘no, there’s no need to attack’ and he said ‘they hate me, I hate them, they are against me’.
‘He started to say a lot of stuff like that but I said nobody hates you, nobody knows you, nobody knows each other.
‘I reported him to the hotel reception and then the next day, yesterday morning, the housing manager talked to me and I said to him everything he (the attacker) said to me. And in the afternoon, it happened.’
On Friday, Nicola Sturgeon praised PC Whyte’s heroic actions: ‘While such a serious incident is rare in Scotland it is another reminder of the courage and professionalism of our police officers who are willing to run towards danger in order to protect the lives of others.’
These are the chaotic scenes outside the Park Inn Hotel in Glasgow this afternoon after it was swamped with police amid reports someone stormed in with a knife and stabbed two people in the reception. A police officer has also been knifed
A blanket is raised as a body is moved out of the hotel as Glasgow suffered a devastating knife attack in a city centre hotel
The Scottish First Minister added: ‘Our thoughts and our gratitude should be with our police officers – particularly that police officer who sustained injuries trying to keep the rest of the public safe.’
The knifeman had complained he was ‘very hungry’ amid ‘poor conditions’ in the hotel during the coronavirus crisis before embarking on a rampage.
Asylum seekers living in the Park Inn Hotel were living on less than £5-a-day before the attacker, from Sudan, ‘went mad and attacked people around him’.
He was shot by armed officers who arrived at the scene within two minutes, a Police Scotland spokesman said.
An activist told the Telegraph the man had threatened violence against other refugees and complained he was ‘very hungry’ after being re-housed in the hotel. The knifeman is the only fatality.
Another five people are being treated at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary and the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, including a 17-year-old boy from Sierra Leone. The ages of the other four injured are 18, 20, 38 and 53.
The victims are thought to be two receptionists, a maintenance employee, and guests staying at the hotel.
One of the injured, a hotel resident said, is 17-year-old Mohamed Mansarie from Sierra Leone.
Resident Beatrice Onwuka, 37, from Nigeria said another of the stabbed refugees was teenager Sultan Mohammed, also from Sierra Leone. The victim’s names are yet to be officially release by police.
Friends of the dead man said he was in his twenties, had ‘big hair and a cute face’. Siraj added: ‘I think he was getting more mentally ill over the three months.
‘He had gastric problems and had to isolate for around 20 days and his room had no light from a window.
‘He didn’t like the food and was fed up.’
Ms Onwuka revealed Adam had changed his mind about seeking asylum and wanted to return back to the Sudan.
‘He was fed up. He didn’t speak much English and he had only a few friends. He was nearly always on his own.
‘He told me he wanted to go home. He didn’t want to stay here anymore. He had had enough.
Mr Nasser, said Adam had not spoken to him prior to the attack.
‘I was there in the hotel. I did not see the attack itself but Baradeen, who was my friend, I saw him with a knife in his hand.
‘It is a shock for me. I am sorry for all the people he hurt. I did not know Badradeen well but we became friends in recent weeks because we are both from Sudan.’
The force declared a major incident and set up a half-mile cordon in the city centre after the male suspect ran into the Park Inn Hotel and began his attack.
Armed officers clutched their weapons as they headed to the scene. Officers arrived at the hotel within two minutes of the start of the stabbing rampage
Witnesses described the bloodbath as ‘carnage’, with one delivery driver saying he helped to save the life of a victim after finding a maintenance man and a receptionist wounded on the floor.
The hotel is one of six in Glasgow that have been used as accommodation for up to 300 asylum seekers during the coronavirus crisis. It is understood 100 were in the Park Inn at the time of the attack.
Activists have hounded Mears Group and the Home Office since at least June 4 about poor conditions in the six hotels housing 400 asylum seekers across Glasgow.
Some asylum seekers complained they were forced to share bathrooms – something that made social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic impossible and worsened mental health issues, according to activists who have accused the provider of ‘lying about conditions in the hotels’.
Ako Zada from Kurdish Community Scotland said it was unlikely to be a terror attack, and poor conditions at the hotel causing depression and mental illness was to blame.
He added: ‘I believe there’s around 100 in the hotel but new people are always coming and going.
‘They were doing a demonstration last week and in George Square they were attacked by a far-right group. They’re not getting £5 a day to buy essentials and don’t know when they will be able to go home.
‘I don’t think it’s a terrorist issue. People have been saying this for months, they’re not well. The hotel is OK for a couple of weeks but not three months. It’s depression and it’s a mental health issue. I’m very sad and devastated.’
It has been confirmed the attacker was shot dead by armed police after the rampage. He was a ‘loner’ who wasn’t ‘mentally healthy’, according to a friend of one of the victims.
Daniel Redhead, an asylum seeker from Grenada, had gone to the Park Inn Hotel to pick up some tobacco from a friend when the attacker went on a rampage.
He said: ‘My friend was screaming help me, help me. I saw him trying to fight the guy off as he was stabbing him. The man’s face was calm.
‘He wasn’t even angry. He left my friend there and stabbed another man on the step. There was blood everywhere, so much blood.’
Mr Redhead said the attacker had harassed one of his friends before, describing him as a ‘loner who spoke very little’.
He said: ‘He didn’t speak much. I saw him around. But he barely spoke. I think he was not mentally healthy.’
His friend was stabbed twice in the stomach at the hotel where a police officer who was one of the first on the scene was also stabbed. Armed police ran to the hotel soon after and shot the attacker dead.
Recalling his friend’s cries for help, Mr Redhead said: ‘I just held him. He was so scared.’
A witness spoke to a colleague working in another Glasgow Hotel and relayed to her the horror inside the hallway of Glasgow’s Park Inn Hotel.
She added: ‘He was naturally very upset and scared about what he has seen. It is terrible. The man just went mad and the police shot him within a few minutes.
‘He told me two receptionists, a maintenance employee and a few other guests and a police officer were attacked and it happened very fast.’
Police standing outside the Park Inn Hotel on West George Street in Glasgow on Friday after a major stabbing incident
Armed officers were filmed running down West George Street with the BBC claiming that the knifeman was shot dead
The Park Inn Hotel is believed to have been housing asylum seekers in Glasgow (people pictured outside the hotel) – and is one of six city hotels caring for 300 migrants during the coronavirus crisis
Armed police officers made their way out of the Park Inn Hotel in Glasgow as reports emerged three people have been killed
Police and other emergency services attending the scene of a stabbing incident at the Park Inn Hotel in Glasgow on Friday
This footage showed armed police removing people from the hotel, who all left with their hands raised, after the horrifying incident. An injured person is taken away on a trolley by paramedics after a major incident in Glasgow where it was reported that multiple people have been stabbed
The incident saw the West George Street area of north-west Glasgow shut down with at least 20 police units in attendance
Asylum seekers who escaped the Glasgow stabbing told MailOnline of the knife horror and the tension which preceded the violence
The horrifying incident came just six days after three men were murdered in a Reading park in a suspected terror attack – although Police Scotland has not yet given a motive for the Glasgow incident.
Footage from the scene minutes after the attack showed armed officers storming along West George Street and witnesses described ‘bloodied’ people being taken from Park Inn on stretchers.
One video shows a male police officer lying on the floor outside the hotel after being stabbed in the leg with another man sitting on the stairs appearing to hold a bleeding wound on his neck. Meanwhile a man was shown being taken away in handcuffs after the suspect was shot dead.
Steve Johnson, Assistant Chief Constable of Police Scotland, said: ‘Police were on the scene within two minutes. A man was shot by armed police.
‘Six other men are in hospital receiving treatment, including a 42-year-old police officer. The officer’s family are aware and being supported.
‘The other men in hospital are aged 17, 18, 20, 38 and 53. Our thoughts are with the families of those who are injured, including our colleague.
‘This incident is not being treated as terrorism and our investigation’s continuing into the circumstances. The street remains closed and people should avoid the area.’
The delivery driver, who asked to remain anonymous, said: ‘The hotel is housing refugees during the coronavirus. I went into the hotel and a guy had stabbed the receptionist and maintenance guy.
‘He then ran back up to a room. I was trying to stem the blood of the maintenance guy when the armed police rushed in and went up to his room and shot the guy. It was absolute carnage.
‘I was on the floor trying to hold the guy, the maintenance guy – a big puncture wound. It was absolutely horrific’.
Radisson Hotel Group, which owns the Park Inn Hotel, said in a statement that it is ‘deeply saddened by the tragic event’ and confirmed the hotel had been occupied ‘for temporary housing’.
Police responded swiftly to a 999 call as armed officers (pictured) ran down the road towards the attacker
Tom Flanagan Kartunnen, Area Senior Vice President Northern & Western Europe, said: ‘We are deeply saddened by the tragic event that happened today on West George Street in Glasgow. We are working with the hotel owner and all the relevant local authorities, including Police Scotland, to support the investigation.
‘Police Scotland has confirmed the incident has been contained and there is no further threat to the public. During the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the hotel has been occupied for temporary housing. For more information on the incident, please contact Police Scotland.’
Nicola Sturgeon said her ‘thoughts are with all those people who have been caught up in this terrible incident’ and thanked ‘all of those police officers whose quick and decisive actions contained the incident’.
The First Minister of Scotland added: ‘It’s been a dreadful afternoon for the city of Glasgow’.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted: ‘Deeply saddened by the terrible incident in Glasgow, my thoughts are with all the victims and their families. Thank you to our brave emergency services who are responding.’
Downing Street said Boris Johnson’s ‘thoughts remain’ with those injured during the incident in Glasgow on Friday.
A Number 10 spokesman said: ‘The Prime Minister has this afternoon spoken with First Minister Nicola Sturgeon about the incident in Glasgow.
‘He has also held a meeting with the Home Secretary and senior police officers, in which he was updated.
‘The Prime Minister thanked the Chief Constable of Police Scotland, Iain Livingstone, for the exceptional bravery of his officers at the scene.’
Home Secretary Priti Patel said: ‘Deeply alarming reports coming from Glasgow. Please follow police advice and avoid the area. Thoughts are with the emergency services as they continue to respond to this incident.’
Justice Minister Humza Yousaf praised Constable Whyte for his ‘immense bravery’ and police officers for being ‘once again at the front line keeping us safe’.
In a statement, Chief Constable Iain Livingstone said he advised the First Minister and Prime Minister that police are ‘not treating the attack as a terrorist incident’ and urged the public not to ‘gather in crowds’ this weekend.
He said: ‘Terrible incidents such as we have seen today are, thankfully, very rare in Scotland. This event has understandably shocked the people of Glasgow, and indeed, the whole country.
‘My thoughts and very best wishes are with those who have been injured and their families, including our colleague Constable David Whyte who was seriously injured in the course of doing his duty. I offer my personal support to all those affected.
‘Officers have once again run into danger to protect their fellow citizens. Their professionalism as police officers was outstanding. I pay tribute to their bravery, selflessness and commitment to protecting the public.
‘I briefed the First Minister and the Prime Minister earlier today on the circumstances and advised them both that we are not treating the attack as a terrorist incident. It is essential enquiries are now carried out to establish the full circumstances and all speculation must be avoided.’
The Chief Constable added: ‘Scotland is a safe place to live and work. We have cohesive communities who work with their police service to maintain our peaceful and respectful way of life.
‘In the context of the current health emergency, and to respect those injured today and the people of Glasgow, I ask everyone to exercise personal responsibility. Please, do not gather in crowds this weekend.’
A person is wheeled from the hotel by emergency service workers in white suits – but police have said the threat is over
police officer staffs a cordon as emergency services attend the scene of a fatal stabbing incident at the Park Inn Hotel
A cordon around a half-mile wide encircled the crime scene and is being maintained by a large police presence
Police speak to hotel residents around 30 minutes after the attack took place this afternoon with officers seen taking away evidence in bags
A spokesman for Mears group, which provided the hotel as a home to asylum seekers, said: ‘Mears Group is deeply saddened and shocked by the tragic events in the heart of Glasgow today. We are contracted by the Home Office to provide housing and support services to asylum seekers in Scotland.
‘We will not anticipate a live police investigation, but we can confirm that the attack happened in a hotel where we are housing asylum seekers during the lockdown period.
‘We will provide more details as we are able to and our priority is to look after the welfare of our service users who will no doubt be traumatised by this terrible event. Tonight, we also think of the staff in the hotel and our colleagues at the scene – all are in our thoughts.’
Activists have been hounding both Mears Group and the Home Office about poor conditions in the hotels since at least June 4, reported the Telegraph.
No Evictions Glasgow tweeted that the authorities ‘knew the truth’ about the treatment of asylum seekers in the city. It claimed the Home Office had cut financial support because the hotels offered three meals a day.
This meant people were left without basic medication such as painkillers.
‘A volunteer from the Unity Centre stated that, in the same hotel, a man with a cardiac condition began to experience anxiety attacks.
‘Despite this he was only attended to 48 hours later and over the phone,’ Mohammed Asif, a 54-year-old campaigner for refuge rights in Glasgow told the newspaper.
One resident complained of ‘severe depression’ but had to wait two weeks for a response to his request to see a doctor. It was also alleged another resident spoke to Mears about deteriorating mental health in the hotels but they were ‘largely ignored’.
Mears refused to comment but previously accused activists of ‘spreading false and misleading information’.
Police Scotland Assistant Chief Constable Steve Johnson said: ‘We are continuing to deal with the incident on West George Street, Glasgow and would ask people to avoid the area. However, I would like to reassure the public that this is a contained incident and that the wider public is not at risk.
‘Armed police officers attended the incident and I can confirm that a male suspect was shot by an armed officer. I would like to reassure the public that at this time we are not looking for anyone else in relation to this incident.
‘I can also confirm that a police officer was injured while dealing with the incident and that officer is receiving treatment in hospital.’
Nicholas, 27, was staying in the hotel and said: ‘I heard people screaming. When I went down to the reception there was blood everywhere. Two of the receptionists had been stabbed, both males.
‘There was a man who was holding his waist. I told them to stay calm and not worry. I saw another receptionist who was lying on the stairs, they’d been stabbed.
‘There were two police officers so I told them what happened. After I came out from the hotel I heard people say the attacker’s still in the hotel but I didn’t come across him.
‘When I was out of the hotel for ten minutes one of the police officers came out with blood on his face, he had been stabbed. My mum’s still in our room – I’ve told her not to come out.’
Police attend the scene of a fatal stabbing incident at the Park Inn Hotel in central Glasgow at around 1pm on Friday
Police and other emergency services attending the scene of a stabbing incident at the Park Inn Hotel in Glasgow
Police standing outside the Park Inn Hotel on West George Street in Glasgow after a major stabbing incident
Armed police bringing out residents of the Park Inn Hotel on West George Street in Glasgow after a major incident
Another man, Shaun, said he saw a man enter the reception area and stab two people. He said: ‘I heard loud noises. A woman screaming and man screaming for help, but I couldn’t see from my window what’s going on.
‘I took the stairs to the ground floor and in the reception it was full of blood everywhere on the floor, a receptionist got stabbed. And then when I went out of the entrance, I saw another receptionist got stabbed. The sad part is I know them. I called my mum and told her immediately not to come down from the room.’
Another witness told Radio Clyde News: ‘I came down the stairs and there was blood all over the reception area. I came outside and there was another person lying on the ground receiving treatment.’
Craig Milroy, who saw the aftermath of the incident from an office building nearby, said he had seen four people taken away in ambulances. He said: ‘I saw a man lying on the ground, of African descent, with no shoes on. He was on the ground with someone holding his side – I don’t know if it was a bullet wound, a stab wound, or what it was.’
Mr Milroy said the man was one of the four taken away by medics and believed him to be a victim of an attack.
He added: ‘We were still standing outside, after that the police all came down, the riot police and triage team told us to go back in and lock the door.’
The Park Inn Glasgow, which is owned by the Radisson chain, is believed to have been housing asylum seekers since April – and its website states that it is temporarily closed until August 2.
Mohammad Asif, from the Glasgow-based Afghan Human Rights Foundation, tweeted: ‘Multiple people attacked and stabbed in Glasgow city centre Park Inn hotel. The hotel also houses asylum seekers.
‘I am told by an asylum seeker resident in the hotel that they are not allowed to speak to anyone. He said many people have stabbed by knives.’
Glasgow-born actor John Barrowman tweeted a video from California saying he had woken up to the ‘horrific, horrible news about the stabbings’.
He said: ‘Our love and strength to all who have lost family members in the horrific stabbings in Glasgow Scotland. I belong to Glasgow and my heart is hurt today for the people and the city. Strength and Love.’
Armed officers were patrolling the area but believe the threat was neutralised after the suspect was shot
Officers drove back people as the cordon grew around the hotel, which is said to have faced protests in recent weeks
Specialist police officers speak via radios after they gunned down the male suspect this afternoon
Police officers including forensics officers attend the scene of a fatal stabbing incident at the Park Inn Hotel
Horrified witnesses claim ‘multiple’ people may have been stabbed in a broad daylight knife attack. One told MailOnline: ‘It’s shocking. Things have been so quiet with lockdown.
‘I heard the sirens and then there were police, some with automatic weapons and bullet proof vests running around. Somebody told me there was blood all over the road. I’m so upset and just want to get home.’
Witness Callum O’Brien, who lives in a flat near the scene, told Mirror Online: ‘I didn’t see the attack and first I was aware was from multiple sirens outside.
‘I can’t see round the corner to where the attack took place but I have seen four people taken into ambulances. They were all taken on stretchers. One was very bloodied, the others not so much.’
He added moments later: ‘A fifth has just been taken into an ambulance and was surrounded by paramedic and police and being given oxygen, noticeably more so than the others so this may have been the attacker but don’t have anything else to go on other than that sorry.’
A witness named Louisa told Sky News: ‘I was in a building on West George Street, I was higher up so I could see what was going on. We’re inside, we’re safe on a high floor, we’re staying put for the time being.
‘In the aftermath I saw people who were being treated, there were covered in blood, there was blood all over them. There were armed police telling people to come out of the hotel with their hands up… there was a large group of them. I saw at least three being treated at the scene before they were taken away in ambulances.’
There were police cars, ambulances all over the street. Another witness told the Daily Record: ‘We’ve barricaded our offices because we were being safe in case it was terrorism. This is really scary.’
Forensic officers at the scene in West George Street, Glasgow, where a man has been shot by an armed officer after another officer was injured during an attack
Police officers push back a cordon as they attend the scene of a fatal stabbing incident at the Park Inn Hotel
The hotel has been evacuated and are being helped by police officers and paramedics
A police officer gestures at the scene of reported multiple stabbings at West George Street in Glasgow
The Scottish Defence League held a rally in Glasgow’s George Square on June 17 and clashed with asylum seekers. George Square is located just a five-minute walk away from the Park Inn hotel.
The asylum seekers’ rally was organised by the group No Evictions, which is campaigning for those who have been allegedly removed from their homes and rehouses in the ‘cramped and degrading’ hotels.
Mark White, from Sky News, said: ‘Several people have been injured in a serious incident in Glasgow city centre. Armed police have sealed off West George Street. Eyewitnesses have told they saw people, bloodied, being taken on stretchers from the Park Inn hotel.’
LBC reporter Fraser Knight posted: ‘Reports of multiple stabbings in Glasgow City Centre and a potential major incident with upwards of 20 police vehicles, riot shields, armed officers and paramedics on West George Street
‘Around 20 police vehicles, armed officers, sniffer dogs and riot shields are on the scene at West George Street in Glasgow. Lots of shouting and huge number of paramedics in hazmat suits.
‘Huge police and ambulance response to an incident on West George Street in Glasgow – reports of a police officer being stabbed.’
The Scottish Police Federation (SPF) has said an officer has been stabbed during a major incident in Glasgow.
The SPF tweeted: ‘We are aware of reports a police officer has been stabbed in an incident in Glasgow city centre. Our officials are in attendance to provide all necessary support.
‘Please allow our collages the space to do their jobs. Further updates will be provided when we are able to do so.’
It added: ‘We appreciate families of police officers in £Glasgow will be anxious to hear that a police officer has been stabbed. Please be aware the family of the officer has been notified and is being supported by the service.
In a statement on Twitter, police said the incident is ‘contained’ and there is no danger to the general public.
Greater Glasgow Police tweeted: ‘Emergency services are currently dealing with an incident on West George Street in Glasgow. The street is currently closed off and the public are asked to avoid the area at present.
‘The situation is contained at this time and there is no danger to the general public.’
Scotland First Minister Nicola Sturgeon tweeted: ‘Please follow advice to avoid the West George Street area of Glasgow while @policescotland deal with this ongoing incident.’
EXCLUSIVE: Glasgow knifeman is named as ‘loner’ Sudanese asylum seeker who had been in a hostel room with no daylight for three months and had threatened to attack his neighbours for making too much noise
The alleged knifeman shot dead by police is a Sudanese national called Badradeen who warned the night before the carnage that he was going to launch an attack.
The alleged knifeman’s friend, Siraj, (pictured), 22, an asylum seeker from Yeman, told Mail Online that he had a conversation with Badradeen the night before the bloodbath at the Park Inn hotel in Glasgow city centre
His name was revealed by his close friend Abdal Nasser, 22, who told of his shock at seeing the ‘loner’ standing with a knife after six people, including a police officer, had been stabbed.
Another friend Siraj told Mail Online that he had a conversation with Badradeen the night before the bloodbath at the Park Inn hotel in Glasgow city centre.
Siraj, 22, an asylum seeker from Yeman told Mail Online: ‘He told me that he was fed up. He had been in the hotel for three months. There was no daylight in his room and he was very angry.
‘He said that he was going to attack two guys in the room next to his because they’re were making noise to deliberately annoy him. ‘
Siraj added: ‘ I said ‘No No No’ and that it was just that the hotels walls were thin and it was just noise.
But he said Badradeen had told him :’ No. They hate me. And I hate them. I am going to stab them.’
Siraj said: ‘I didn’t think he would actually do anything.
‘But I did go to the hotel supervisor and make a report. The next morning at around 9.30 the hotel talked to me and took down the details of what he had said he was going to do.
‘I then went to sleep I was only woken up by the fire alarm and then when I came down I just saw the blood everywhere. I couldn’t believe he had done it.’
The knife man was shot dead by police, and six people including the police officer David Whyte remain in hospital. He was critical but is now in a stable in hospital.
One of the injured, a hotel resident said, is 17-year-old Mohamed Mansarie from Sierra Leone.
Police, alongside a floral tribute, at the scene in West George Street, Glasgow, where a man was shot by armed officers on Friday
Resident Beatrice Onwuka, 37, from Nigeria said another of the stabbed refugees was teenager Sultan Mohammed, also from Sierra Leone.
Police Scotland have not released any names officially, but did say that the injured included people of the ages of 17, 18, 30, 38 and 53.
Friends of the dead man said he was in his twenties, had ‘big hair and a cute face.
Siraj added: ‘I think he was getting more mentally ill over the three months.
‘He had gastric problems and had to isolate for around 20 days and his room had no light from a window.
‘He didn’t like the food and was fed up.’
Police at the scene in West George Street, Glasgow, where a man was shot by an armed officers after another police officer was injured during an attack on Friday
Ms Onwuka revealed Badradeen had changed his mind about seeking asylum and wanted to return back to the Sudan.
‘He was fed up. He didn’t speak much English and he had only a few friends. He was nearly always on his own.
‘He told me he wanted to go home. He didn’t want to stay here anymore. He had had enough.
Mr Nasser, said Badradeen had not spoken to him prior to the attack.
‘I was there in the hotel. I did not see the attack itself but Baradeen, who was my friend, I saw him with a knife in his hand.
‘It is a shock for me. I am sorry for all the people he hurt. I did not know Badradeen well but we became friends in recent weeks because we are both from Sudan.’
PC David Whyte, 42, played football in a local police team. His wife is called Carol and they have two children.
