TEARS FOR A LOCAL HERO
POPULAR CITY SHOPKEEPER KILLED IN BRUTAL ATTACK ...
A COMMUNITY is in mourning today after a well-loved shopkeeper was killed in a brutal attack on Glasgow’s South Side.
Police said a 40-year-old man has died following the street attack in Shawlands last night.
The victim, named locally as Asad Shah, who ran Shah’s newsagents on Minard Road, was found seriously injured and was taken to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, where he later died. It is understood he was stabbed.
The incident happened at just after 9pm last night, on Minard Road, near to the junction with Waverley Gardens.
One resident, who saw the aftermath of the attack, said: “This kind of thing just doesn’t happen around here, we’re so shocked by it.
“I saw emergency services treating a guy lying on the road, another man was in the bus stop. He seemed to have a hand injury or something.
“Police were taking statements from everyone.”
A Police Scotland spokeswoman said: “Officers are currently pursuing a positive line of inquiry in connection with the death.”
Today residents and customers laid flowers at the scene of the attack which has been cordoned off by police officers.
Julie McRea, whose son worked as a paperboy at the shop as a youngster, said: “I just can’t believe it.
“He was just such a kind man. He helped out my family when my kids were having difficulty.
“He was a man of great wisdom. He’d send us all these amazing cards at Christmas and Easter with messages of peace. He helped my youngest daughter when she was having difficulty at school.
“I just can’t believe this has happened in our area. He was a huge part of the community.”
Another local, Sarah Gibbons, said Mr Shah went “above and beyond what a shopkeeper should” for many people in the area.
She laid flowers at the scene near the tragedy and left a card which read ‘A big thank you’.
She said: “He delivered my auntie’s paper and my nana’s paper for years. He was the nicest man. I can’t believe it.
“I cannot imagine what his family must be feeling. You couldn’t ask for a nicer guy.
“Everyone loves him, everyone in the whole neighbourhood.”
This morning, nine police officers stood at a cordon set up outside Shah’s newsagents and a small white tent had been set up beside a bus stop nearby.