Terrible things everywhere

Terrible things happen everywhere. Funny, I never think of those things happening in Scotland, but I guess they do.......

SPURNED-LOVER THEORY as financial adviser gunned down in her office
Date: 23 May 2008
By ALASTAIR DALTON
A WOMAN was seriously injured when she was shot in broad daylight in an office in Glasgow's Chinatown yesterday.

There were claims last night she had been shot in cold blood by a spurned lover.

The 47-year-old financial adviser is in a serious condition in hospital following the attack in a shopping centre.

Her gunshot wounds were only discovered when she was examined in hospital.

Detectives are treating the case as attempted murder. They said the woman – who is not Chinese – was the intended victim.

However, Strathclyde Police said they were still trying to establish a motive. They are seeking a man in his 40s with a Scottish accent.

Witnesses described seeing the woman slumped in a chair in the back office of what they thought was a mortgage firm, just inside the shopping centre.

Andrew Tagg, 24, a fishmonger, said: "I was in the centre getting my lunch and was asked to help move furniture out of the way for the paramedics to get her out.

"She was spread out on a chair with sweat on her face. I did not know what was wrong with her and thought she might have had a heart attack or suffered a diabetic attack."

Mr Tagg, who works at the Golden Trawler fishmonger, which adjoins the shopping centre, said: "I didn't see any blood, but I heard about it later. People have been saying it was an angry lover and things like that, but nobody knows for sure."

Mr Tagg said he thought the woman was Scottish and may have started work at the centre only recently.

The shooting happened at about 2pm on Wednesday but Strathclyde Police only revealed details yesterday. It took place in the Chinatown complex in Cowcaddens.

The Chinese community in Glasgow yesterday expressed horror at news of the attack.

Lyman Chan, of the Chinese Community Development Partnership, said: "It has been quite a shock. We have not heard much about it, but I think the woman involved was a Scottish lady."

A woman from another Chinese organisation, who asked not to be identified, said: "It's been really shocking to the Chinese community, especially since it involved a woman and was in broad daylight. The police have been around all day. These things do not happen here."

Police described the man they are seeking as white, in his 40s, of medium build, unshaven with red or auburn stubble and a Scottish accent. He was wearing a brown bomber jacket and a baseball cap.

Detective Inspector John Mellon, who is leading the inquiry, said: "We believe that the injured woman was the intended victim and want to reassure the public that we are doing everything possible to trace the person responsible.

"The area around New City Road and within the mall at Chinatown would have been busy with people and we are keen to speak to anyone who may be able to assist us with our enquiry."

The entrance to the shopping centre was yesterday guarded by police and cordoned off with police blue-and-white tape. The shops were believed to be closed.

Several officers in white forensic boiler-suits and blue gloves were seen entering and leaving the building.

Only police vehicles were allowed to use the car park, which included one used by a crime-scene examiner from the Scottish Police Services Authority's forensic services section.

A line of officers in black boiler-suits and white gloves combed the car park for evidence. They also examined several drains in adjoining streets, using wooden poles and the assistance of a Glasgow city council street-cleaning vehicle.

BACKGROUND

THE Chinatown complex was built as a new trading centre for Glasgow's Chinese community in 1992, close to its traditional hub in Garnethill.

Situated at Dundas Vale in Cowcaddens, the warehouse-style building comprises an indoor shopping mall and associated businesses, such as restaurants and a fishmonger.

A Chinese archway marks the entrance to the centre's car park, in the shadow of an elevated section of the M8.

At the 2001 census, there were 6,000 Chinese in the west of Scotland, a third born here.



The full article contains 699 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.