A man has been shot in an apparently targeted attack outside a primary school in south-west Glasgow.
A heavy police presence remains in place in the suburb of Penilee after the incident at about 9.05am near St George’s RC primary school on Muirdykes Road.
Police said the man was being treated in hospital, where his condition was described as stable. He has been named locally as Ross Monaghan, 35, who was acquitted of murdering gangster Kevin “Gerbil” Carroll in 2012 after a court decided there was not enough evidence to convict him.
STV News reported that Monaghan was shot in the back and side after dropping off his children at the school. The gunman is believed to be on the run.
Ch Insp Simon Jeacocke said it was “a highly unusual incident” and parents, staff and pupils were understandably very alarmed. “We do believe it was a targeted attack but nonetheless this took place near to a local primary school at the start of the school day, when the area was busy with parents dropping off their children,” he said.
“Although it would appear that there was an intended victim, anyone could have been injured as a result, putting young children and innocent people at risk. The pupils are now safe at school and additional police patrols are in the area to provide extra reassurance over the next couple of days. Please do not hesitate to approach my officers if you are concerned at all.”
Detectives were carrying out inquiries to establish the full circumstances of the incident and appealed to anyone who might have seen anything or been in the area at the time to contact police.
Glasgow police tweeted:
We are aware of a firearms incident in Penilee this morning. We do not believe there is any ongoing threat to any other person.
— GlasgowSWPolice (@SWGlasgowPolice) January 16, 2017
The council said all staff and pupils were safe and the school remained open.
The local councillor Alistair Watson said parents were worried about the safety of their children. “[The] kids are the number one priority, to make sure they are safe,” he said. “Penilee is a good area with lots of very good people here. I have to commend the police for their operation. They have been very on the ball with this incident.”
Carroll, 29, a member of the Daniel crime clan in north Glasgow, was shot dead in an Asda car park in 2010 after a long-running feud with the rival Lyons family. Monaghan was charged with Carroll’s murder, but the trial collapsed when a judge ruled there was no case to answer due to a lack of evidence.