To the untrained eye, there was little out of the ordinary yesterday afternoon in Hyndland, one of Glasgow's most affluent residential areas.

To the untrained eye, there was little out of the ordinary yesterday afternoon in Hyndland, one of Glasgow's most affluent residential areas.

Mothers pushed buggies in the sunshine and shoppers meandered past, laden down with bags from the local delicatessens and bespoke clothing stores.

On the grapevine, though, news of the stabbing was beginning to filter through.

The surgery remained open for business yesterday afternoon. Among patients going in to make appointments or pick up prescriptions, the reaction was, without exception, shock.

Susan Sirc, 69, a retired university lecturer from Hyndland, has been a patient of Dr Helen Jackson for the past eight years.

She said: "I've just heard the news and I'm absolutely shocked. It's horrific. She's such a lovely person and a very good doctor."

Another patient of Dr Jackson, who declined to be named, said: "She's a wonderful doctor. I can't imagine anyone having a grudge or ill feeling against her.

"She's such a kind and caring person. Whenever you go to see her, she takes her time, you would think you were the only person she had to see that day."

Tony Donegan, 70, a retired civil servant who lives only a few doors away from the surgery, said he was upset by the news. "It's just not the kind of thing you expect to happen on your doorstep."

Another local resident, who would only give his name as Patrick, 78, said: "I don't think any area is safe these days. The population is going mad stabbing and shooting.

"There has always been plenty of bad behaviour in Glasgow over the years, but never this close to my own doorstep and I have lived in this area since I was 25."

David Ritchie, 62, a retired printer, said: "It's hard to take the news in. If it can happen inside a doctor's surgery, it can happen anywhere. I feel really uneasy. It's unsettling.

"I'll be taking extra precautions tonight and making sure my front door is locked and bolted securely."

Fred Parry, 51, a music teacher from Scotstoun whose children go to school in the Hyndland area, said: "It's the last thing you'd expect to hear in this area. I used to live just round the corner from that surgery and always found it to be a quiet area with settled families. There is rarely any trouble.

"I'm often here visiting friends. I find it quite hard to believe this has happened."