WITNESSES to the horror city centre attack described hearing “wails” and cries for help before police rushed to the scene.
A male suspect was shot by armed officers during a major incident at the Park Inn Hotel on West George Street.
Six people, including a police officer, were hospitalised following the event. The 42-year-old officer is in critical but stable condition and his family had been alerted to his condition.
The condition of the other five men, aged 17, 18, 20, 38 and 53, had not been confirmed.
Police Scotland have confirmed the attack is not being treated as a terrorist incident.
A resident at the Park Inn Hotel told the Glasgow Times he was awoken by screams of men and women crying for help.
He said: “I was a resident on the third floor of the hotel – I was staying with my mum there.
“I was sleeping and heard loud noises – women screaming and men screaming for help.
“I couldn’t see from my window what was going on, but I could see people standing there, looking towards the hotel.
“I got worried and I came down,” he added.
When he tried to leave the hotel to see what was happening, the man, who wished to be known only as John, was greeted by horrific scenes.
“I pressed the lift button – it was covered in blood. I took the stairs and came down and there was blood everywhere,” John said.
“The whole reception was covered in blood.”
By the time John reached the entrance of the hotel, police had already reached West George Street.
“When I got out, I immediately called my mum and told her not to come down from the room. I told her not to worry.”
“I am kind of shaky. I was a police officer before, so I have seen this kind of situation, so the best thing is not to panic and to stay as calm as possible.
He added: “I am just worried about all the asylum seekers who are inside the Park Inn.”
One witness saw residents running out the hotel after police arrived at the scene and said: “Police were shouting ‘put your hands up and come out’. People were running out of the hotel.
“Police were shouting to people in other buildings near the Park Inn hotel to stay inside and not come into the street.”
READ MORE: Anger as Nigel Farage blames asylum seekers for Glasgow stabbing incident
Another witness, who preferred not to be named, was working in an office in one of the buildings on West George Street.
He said: “We heard a real wail from the street. At first we didn’t think anything of it.
“We left the office to head for lunch but then we heard the police sirens.
“Police were here within a few minutes of the screams. They got here really quickly”, he added.
An employee from a neighbouring business told they were instructed to lock up and pull down the shutters.
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