Police not treating Glasgow stabbings as a terrorist act
LONDON >> Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the multiple stabbings in Glasgow on Friday that ended with the suspect being shot dead by police weren’t being treated as terrorism.
The male suspect was shot dead by police at a Glasgow hotel that appeared to be largely housing asylum-seekers and refugees. Six other men, including a 42-year-old police officer, have been hospitalized and are being treated for injuries. The five other men were aged between 17 and 53.
“The police have just confirmed that at this stage they are not treating this as a terrorist incident,” she said. “But of course, there are still details yet to be determined.”
Sturgeon said she had spoken with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson who expressed his concern and sympathies.
“It’s been a dreadful afternoon for the city of Glasgow,” Sturgeon said. “Clearly there is already much speculation around this incident, which remains under investigation.”
Steve Johnson, assistant chief constable at Police Scotland, said officers were on the scene within two minutes of reports of an incident at 12:50 p.m., and that armed police arrived shortly afterwards.
“The incident was quickly contained,” he said. The officer stabbed during the incident at the Park Inn Hotel on West George Street was in “a critical but stable condition,” Johnson said.
Johnson said police weren’t searching for anyone else.
The Scottish Police Federation, which represents the large majority of Scottish police officers, said it has notified the family of the injured officer. Boris Johnson said he was “deeply saddened by the terrible incident in Glasgow.”