An asylum seeker who stabbed six people in a Glasgow hotel rampage had made threats about stabbing 24 hours before the attack, a Fatal Accident Inquiry hearing has revealed.
Badreddin Abdalla Adam Bosh, 28, from Sudan, carried out the knife attack at the Park Inn Hotel on West George Street on 26 June 2020, before being shot dead by armed police officers who responded to the incident.
The revelation emerged during the third preliminary hearing at Glasgow Sheriff Court, where Sheriff Principal Aisha Anwar questioned Police Scotland Federation’s advocate Shelagh McCall KC about transcripts she had reviewed.
“There were threats of stabbing 24 hours prior to the incident?” Sheriff Principal Anwar asked, to which Miss McCall confirmed: “Yes.”
The hearing was told that Bosh was among hundreds of asylum seekers moved into Glasgow hotels at the start of the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020. The Park Inn was understood to have been housing approximately 100 asylum seekers at the time of the attack.
Bosh had arrived in the UK via Ireland after fleeing Sudan following the death of his uncle, who was shot dead. He had told family members he struggled to adapt to life in the Park Inn Hotel, describing conditions as difficult whilst he was ill with Covid-19.
In a troubling pattern of escalating distress, the hearing revealed that Bosh had contacted the Home Office and other organisations more than 70 times before the attack, raising concerns about his health and accommodation. Despite these numerous attempts to seek help, the situation culminated in the violent incident.
The inquiry heard that police officers were unaware the hotel was being used to house asylum seekers at the time of the incident. Shelagh McCall KC, representing the Scottish Police Federation, stated: “Police Scotland had no knowledge that this hotel housed asylum seekers at relevant time. Had that been communicated there was the opportunity for community engagement with staff and residents at hotel.”
She added: “Community policing can help with issues before they escalate.
The family of Bosh have raised questions about whether police were justified in using deadly force to stop the attack. In 2023, a Crown Office investigation concluded that the actions of police were proportionate to the threat posed.
Emma Toner, representing Police Scotland, told the hearing: “The principle area of interest is in the police response to the incident.
The upcoming full Fatal Accident Inquiry, which is expected to last between 10 to 12 weeks, will examine several areas of dispute, including whether mental health assessments were sufficient and whether tasers should be classified similarly to batons when used by police officers.
Sheriff Principal Anwar noted that an anonymity order has been granted for the police officers involved in the incident, acknowledging that the events had been “clearly distressing for all involved.
A report from witness Amanda Trimble is expected to address the systems in place and which risk assessments should have been carried out prior to the incident. This evidence could prove crucial in understanding what preventative measures might have been taken.
The inquiry will involve legal representation from multiple organisations, including the Home Office, Mears Group PLC (the company managing the hotel accommodation), the Scottish Police Federation, Glasgow City Council, the Scottish Ambulance Service, and Migrant Help UK.
Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain decided last year that it was in the public interest to hold a discretionary Fatal Accident Inquiry. FAIs are public examinations of the circumstances of deaths conducted before a sheriff, designed to establish facts rather than apportion blame or fault.
The case has raised serious questions about the management of asylum seeker accommodation during the pandemic, communication between agencies, and the support systems available to vulnerable individuals in the asylum system.
The revelation that threats were made 24 hours before the attack adds a troubling dimension to the tragedy, potentially indicating missed opportunities for intervention. The inquiry will need to examine whether these threats were properly communicated to relevant authorities and what protocols existed for responding to such warnings.
The incident occurred during an unprecedented period when normal support services were disrupted by Covid-19 restrictions, and asylum seekers were rapidly relocated to hotel accommodation. The hearing suggests there were significant gaps in communication between agencies responsible for asylum seeker welfare and Police Scotland.
The June preliminary hearing was told there could have been opportunities to “de-escalate” the situation had proper information sharing occurred between agencies. This raises questions about inter-agency cooperation and the systems in place to protect both asylum seekers and the wider public.
As the full inquiry approaches, it will need to address not only the immediate circumstances of the attack but also the broader systemic issues that may have contributed to the tragedy. The findings could have significant implications for how asylum seekers are housed and supported in Scotland and across the UK.
The date for the full Fatal Accident Inquiry has yet to be determined, but when it begins, it will provide a comprehensive examination of one of Scotland’s most serious incidents involving asylum seeker accommodation.
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