Glasgow stabbings: Police officer says scene he found ‘is something I will never forget’

A policeman left in critical condition after responding to a multiple stabbing attack at a Glasgow hotel has spoken of the scene he was first confronted with upon arrival, saying it “is something I will never forget”.

Constable David Whyte was among the first officers sent to the city’s Park Inn hotel after a man launched a knife attack, injuring six people before being shot dead by armed police.

He is now in a stable condition as he recovers from being stabbed, and spoke publicly of the “extremely challenging” experience for the first time.

“The scene we were confronted with is something I will never forget,” 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.

“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.”

He went on to thank members of the public and colleagues at Police Scotland for their messages of support.

“It means a lot and has brought both myself and my family great comfort at this difficult time,” he added.

It comes after it emerged staff at the hotel said they had been warned the man believed to have carried out the attacks was mentally unstable the night before he struck.

Fellow residents at had reported concerns about his mental state prior to the incident, and the warning was passed to staff in a phone call on Thursday evening.

Sky News was told the Sudanese man, who was an asylum seeker, had begun to behave erratically.

One fellow resident said he had told him he wanted to attack other people in the hotel, including staff.

And other Sudanese asylum seekers had become scared of him and made their concerns known to a Glasgow-based liaison worker who deals with asylum issues.

The suspected attacker, who came to the United Kingdom six months ago, had been complaining about living conditions in the hotel and had said he was having particular difficulty with noise.

Sky News understands that in the minutes before the assault, he had a telephone consultation with an immigration solicitor.

Three of those injured were asylum seekers staying at the hotel, while the other two were members of staff.

Of those five, aged 17, 18, 20, 38 and 53, one is described as critical but stable and the others stable.

Siraj, an asylum seeker who was in the same hotel, told Sky News the man had made violent threats previously.

“He was saying the people are against him, the people hate him,” he said.

“The next room, they were making some noise and he was saying the noise was just to disturb him. The room on top of him the same.

“One day he said ‘I want to attack them. I want to attack that room next to me. That room on top of me’. He said ‘I want to attack the hotel workers’.

“I said to him ‘Not needed, there’s no logic to do that, everyone is fine just try to ignore everything’.”

(c) Sky News 2020: Glasgow stabbings: Police officer says scene he found ‘is something I will never forget’