A man was shot dead by police as six were seriously injured in a bloody stabbing attack at a Glasgow hotel housing asylum seekers on Friday.

A knifeman attacked multiple people including at least two staff members after storming the Park Inn in West George Street.

Six men including two teenagers are being treated in hospital for their injuries, including a 42-year unarmed police officer who was said to be "critical but stable".

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The officer has been named as Constable David Whyte. Chief Constable Iain Livingstone said the officer offered his "personal support to all those affected" by the incident.

Earlier reports suggested two other people had died at the hotel, which is one of those at the centre of a row over the 'forced' movement of hundreds of asylum seekers in Glasgow and their treatment as vulnerable people since the coronavirus crisis started.

The First Minister said the incident was not terror related and there was no on-going threat to the public.

Police Scotland confirmed they are not looking for anyone else in relation to the incident.

Police Scotland said that officers were on the scene within two minutes following reports of the attack at 12.50pm.

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Those receiving urgent treatment for injuries are men aged 17, 18, 20, 38 and 53.

Nicola Sturgeon said: "My thoughts are with everyone involved. The injury of a police officer, of course, reminds us of the bravery of our police service. They run towards dangers as the rest of us would run away."

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he was "deeply saddened by the terrible incident in Glasgow".

The attack happened just five minutes walk from where there has been at least one protest by No Evictions Glasgow over the living conditions of refugees.

The Mears Group has been heavily criticised for its decision to move around 400 asylum seekers claiming it was necessary because of problems securing lets during the lockdown, which campaigners say had put the physical and mental health of asylum seekers at risk.

Mears, however, insisted on Wednesday it had kept people safe from Covid-19, claiming the “unprecedented arrangements” it made during the pandemic are “proving effective”.

They invited politicians last week to invite them to a briefing about the situation and said yesterday that asylum seekers would be returning to individual accommodation from next week.

Glasgow City Council leader Susan Aitken that from a "social work and a welfare point of view" it had been made clear "many times" that they do not support asylum seekers being moved to hotels.

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"I wrote to the Home Office and to Mears, when they started to do that at the start of this lockdown period. But we don't know yet and we can't say at this point that this has anything to do with what happened," she said.

"But that is a serious issue and a disturbing issue, and it is something we need to continue to campaign on.

"Glasgow has been through a lot, and we have always recovered. But this is devastating. It is a tragedy for the city. Regardless of how resilient we are, we will not forget this day for a long time."

Robina Qureshi, director of the refugee and migrant homelessness charity Positive Action in Housing said: "I can only tell you we are not surprised that something happened there, because there are some very vulnerable people being housed there.

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"Our offices are 100 yards from the hotel... and it is one of five that they forcibly moved people to during the pandemic.   

"Around 70-90 asylum seekers live in that hotel which is dominated by asylum seekers.

"Only yesterday, the Mears Group admitted to Scottish MPs they had failed to do vulnerability assessments of asylum seekers who they forcibly moved.”

Footage from the hotel scene minutes after the attack showed armed officers storming the street and witnesses described 'bloodied' people being taken from the hotel on stretchers.

Police Scotland Assistant Chief Constable Steve Johnson urged people to avoid the area.

He said: "Officers were on the scene within two minutes, and armed officers shortly afterwards, and the incident was quickly contained."

One Park Inn resident from Malaysia known only as John said he saw two bloodied reception staff fighting for their lives after the incident as he sought help.

"I heard a loud noise and heard a man screaming asking for help. There was also a female voice who was screaming. "When I looked out there was a group of people staring towards the hotel. When I went down, the inside of the lift was covered in blood.

"And when I went down the stairs the whole reception area was covered with blood.

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"I saw one on the reception was stabbed and he was lying behind the desk of the reception. He was gasping for air. One of the ayslym seekers was assisting him.

"I shouted not to worry and to call for help, just to stay calm. I ran out the hotel and saw another receptionist an d he is gasping for air and fighting for his life on the hotel stairs.

"What I know is that there was a big stabbing going on but I'm not sure what the cause of the stabbing was."

Witness 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."

He added: "After that we saw commotion, ambulances further up and we saw armed police all running into the hotel next to the Society Room.

"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."

Another asylum seeker, a 43-year-old man who had arrived in Glasgow from Iran just 10 days ago, said it was “chaos”.

“I saw two of the men on the floor, stabbed. There was blood everywhere. I don’t know the attacker. I don’t know why he did it.”

Shell-shocked and hungry, he watched the scene from behind the police cordon on West Nile Street.

“I don’t know where I will sleep tonight. All my things are in the hotel. I’m by myself, my family are all in Iran. I only got here 10 days ago. Does this kind of thing happen in Glasgow?”

Another eye witness Matthew Nesbitt said: "One of the men, one of the victims, blood was coming from torso and on the steps. It is not something you expect to see on a Friday afternoon.

"You see it in the news, but you don't expect it to happen outside your building. It is pretty heartbraking, not for me to see these things, but for those who are injured and lost lives.

"There was a lot of panic and a lot of tears and emotions from a lot of people having to see this. There were a lot of people were screaming and running away, and typical 2020, a lot of people getting their phones out and videoing. A lot of people were more interested in capturing it for social media it would seem."

The horrifying incident came after there were protests in George Square, just five minutes walk from the hotel, about the treatment of asylum seekers.

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On Wednesday, last week, No Evictions Glasgow accused "far-right groups" of trying to "hi-jack" their peaceful demonstration.

National Defence League supporters went to the square saying they wanted to "make and stand" and "protect the Cenotaph".

Six men were arrested by police after the separate protest groups gathered with the First Minister condemning "racist thugs".

Concerns were further raised by politicians amid claims "fascist thugs were able to run wild in George Square" and target peaceful protests.

While an event on Saturday was aimed at sending a "positive anti-racist message" on World Refugee Day, it is claimed a small number of loyalists and members of a far-right group gathered at the square’s war memorial.

The Mears Group declined to comment and referred inquiries to the Home Office "as this is an ongoing police operation".

The Herald:

Mears chief operating officer, John Taylor, told a media briefing on Wednesday that asylum seekers who were moved en masse into hotels in the city centre at the beginning of the pandemic will be returning to individual accommodation from next week.

He made a further pledge that all those currently in the asylum system would be housed, saying: “No one is going to be homeless, that is absolutely clear.”

He acknowledged that “anyone living in a hotel for three months is going to find that challenging” but insisted he “didn’t recognise” complaints about mouldy food, saying Mears workers had talked to residents on a daily basis.