Smoke bomb 'error' by police who shot hotel attacker

Badreddin Abdalla Adam Bosh was shot by police after carrying out multiple stabbings

A smoke grenade was used in error by police who shot and killed an asylum seeker after he stabbed six people at a hotel in Glasgow, an inquiry hearing has been told.

Badreddin Abdalla Adam Bosh, 28, from Sudan, injured a police officer during the attack at the Park Inn Hotel in West George Street on 26 June 2020.

Police made unsuccessful attempts to disarm him using non-lethal weapons before shooting him.

Mr Bosh was one of hundreds of asylum seekers moved from flats into hotels in the city at the start of the Covid-19 lockdown - a move that raised concerns about the mental health of often vulnerable individuals.

Three asylum seekers, two hotel workers and police officer David Whyte - who had responded to the emergency call - were injured by Mr Bosh during the attack.

Mr Bosh's family have questioned whether police were right to use deadly force.

The Crown Office previously investigated the matter and, in 2023, concluded the actions of police were proportionate.

A preliminary hearing ahead of a fatal accident inquiry (FAI) into Mr Bosh's death was held at Glasgow Sheriff Court on Tuesday.

It was told that firearms officers sent to the scene used a smoke device instead of a stun grenade, which was "inappropriate to the situation".

The device caused the fire alarm in the hotel to be activated.

Shelagh McCall KC, representing the Scottish Police Federation, stated that the error may have hindered communication between the firearms officers and was a "potential factor relevant to the death".

The smoke grenade is not thought to have contributed to or caused Mr Bosh's death, she added.

What happened at the Park Inn?

The attack sparked a huge emergency response

The Park Inn attack happened three months into the Covid-19 lockdown, when restrictions had led to Home Office contractor Mears moving hundreds of asylum seekers from flats into hotels in Glasgow.

Mr Bosh had been staying in the hotel, having left Sudan in 2017 when his uncle was shot dead.

He told family he had struggled to adapt to life in the Park Inn - which was understood to have been housing about 100 asylum seekers.

Mr Bosh had described the situation in the hotel as difficult and he had been ill with Covid.

According to Aamer Anwar, the solicitor acting on behalf of Mr Bosh's family, he had reportedly applied to voluntarily return to Sudan, but the process was delayed by the pandemic.

Mr Bosh had contacted the Home Office and its partners 72 times about his health and accommodation.

In the early afternoon of 26 June, Mr Bosh stabbed three asylum seekers and two members of staff at the hotel.

Armed officers arrived at the scene swiftly

One eyewitness described upsetting scenes outside the building, including a man with no T-shirt or shoes lying on the ground with a wound to his chest - "maybe like he had tried to run away from the hotel".

Armed police arrived within minutes of an emergency call, at about 12:50. Mr Bosh then stabbed 42-year-old police officer, Constable David Whyte.

Mr Whyte was taken to hospital in a critical but stable condition. The following day police confirmed his condition had changed to "stable".

The five other victims were also taken to hospital for treatment.

The area outside the hotel remained sealed off while police carried out inquiries

An internal Home Office review, obtained by the BBC in 2022, found Mr Bosh's attempts to contact the government should have acted as a warning.

Scotland's Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain decided it was in the public interest to hold a discretionary fatal accident inquiry (FAI).

The Crown Office said the decision to hold an inquiry followed a thorough and independent investigation by prosecutors into the wider circumstances leading to his death.

What will the inquiry do?

The preliminary hearing was held ahead of the inquiry, which will take place at a later date yet to be determined.

Advocate depute Alan Cameron KC said the Crown was "not in a position" to address the scope of the inquiry or allow a date for the inquiry to be fixed "due to the areas in dispute".

A further preliminary hearing has been set for 23 June.

There are currently 83 witnesses in the inquiry.

Its purpose includes determining the cause of death, the circumstances in which the death occurred, and establishing what reasonable precautions could have been taken to minimise the risk of future deaths in similar circumstances.

Unlike criminal proceedings, FAIs are inquisitorial in nature, and are used to establish facts rather than apportion blame.

Speaking outside the court, lawyer Aamer Anwar said that as well as Mr Bosh's family's concerns about lethal force, questions had been raised at the time over hygiene at the hotel and the availability of medical and psychiatric support.

Campaigners from Refugees for Justice joined lawyer Aamer Anwar outside court

He said: "The Home Office at the time was heavily criticised for uprooting hundreds of refugees and asylum seekers at very short notice and moving them into hotels emptied because of the lockdown.

"Those advocating on behalf of asylum seekers and refugees complained that hundreds of vulnerable and frightened people were being forced into hotels and cramped spaces when social distancing was being advised by the government at the height of the pandemic."

Siraj Balubaid, who works with the campaign group Refugees for Justice, said he had been searching for answers on the circumstances of Mr Bosh's death and was "trying to seek justice" for others who had been moved into hotels at the time.

He said: "Unfortunately the hotels have been used now widely across the country for people seeking asylum.

"We are showing solidarity for the victims of all the people… who have been in the hotel detention or hotel accommodation across the country."

The Home Office has been contacted for comment.