A Sudanese asylum seeker shot dead after stabbing six people in Glasgow has been buried an hour late after more than a hundred mourners arrived at his funeral.
Badreddin Abadlla Adam, 28, was due to be buried at Linn Cemetery in Glasgow at 2pm this afternoon.
He was shot by armed officers last month after injuring six people, including police constable David Whyte, 42, during an attack at the Park Inn Hotel in the city.
By 3pm today, an hour after the ceremony was scheduled to begin, three police vans had been called to the cemetery to try to disperse crowds of mourners.
The Scottish Government’s current rules allow for a maximum of 20 guests at funeral services during the latest phase of lockdown restrictions being eased.
More than 100 mourners arrived to at Linn Cemetery in Glasgow for the funeral of Badreddin Abadlla Adam, 28, at 2pm today
A Police Scotland spokeswoman confirmed that officers were in attendance ‘assisting staff with social distancing regulations’.
At the time of his knife attack, Adam was being temporarily housed in the hotel that was being used as accommodation for asylum seekers during the coronavirus pandemic.
Badreddin Abadlla Adam (pictured) died after he was shot by police
He was described as a ‘quiet and polite and decent guy’ by asylum seekers who were also residing at the city centre hotel.
The number of mourners far exceeded the Scottish Government’s maximum limit, meaning most had to congregate in a nearby car park while the service took place.
Speaking on the Monday following the ‘traumatic’ attack, a fellow resident by the name of Andrew said those living at the Park Inn Hotel had been moved.
He said: ‘Recently we were moved from the Park Inn Hotel to the Hallmark Hotel because of the incident that happened on Friday which has been traumatic for every single asylum seeker.
‘One way or the other we have been affected mentally, physically and otherwise.
‘I (was not) around when it took place but I happened to gather some information from my other asylum seekers.
‘They described him as a quiet and polite and decent guy – they were surprised that he acted the way he acted.
By 3pm today, an hour after the ceremony was scheduled to begin, three police vans had been called to the cemetery to try to disperse crowds of mourners. Pictured, the coffin
Mourners lined up to pay their respects to the coffin ahead of the burial. The number of mourners far exceeded the Scottish Government’s maximum limit
Most of the mourners had to congregate in a nearby car park while the service took place
‘There must be something that pushed him to behave in that ugly manner which honestly I strongly condemned because it is abnormal, but definitely something must have pushed that guy into that level of disastrous act.’
Pc Whyte, one of the attacker’s six injured victims, paid tribute to police and medical staff after being discharged from hospital a week on from the attack.
‘There is no doubt that I face a long road to recovery but I am absolutely determined to be back on duty as soon as I possibly can,’ he said.
‘I would like to thank the medical staff at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital for saving my life and getting me back to where I am today.’
At the time of his discharge on July 2, four other men remained in hospital, three in a stable condition while one was still critical.
The coffin is removed from the hearse by six men wearing masks and hi-vis jackets
Pictured: Officers stand guard near a bouquet of flowers outside the Park Inn Hotel on Saturday, June 27
Adam had been on a call with his immigration lawyer minutes before the attack, it was previously reported.
Hotel staff were also warned about the man’s mental state the night before, when a liaison worker had reportedly spoken with hotel staff at about 11 p.m. on Thursday.
Campaigners warned that the coronavirus lockdown would trigger a mental health crisis among ‘traumatised’ asylum seekers in Glasgow weeks before the rampage.
Hero police officer David Whyte was critically injured while responding to the attack
Minutes before the stabbing began at 12.50 p.m. on Friday, Sky News reports that the suspect had spoken with an immigration solicitor over the phone, who said he would raise concerns with a ‘safeguarding’ team at the home office.
Armed officers were scrambled at lunchtime on June 26 to West George Street, where immigrants were being housed during the pandemic, after the knifeman launched his stabbing spree.
But the coronavirus lockdown, imposed in March, allegedly triggered previous trauma in the ‘vulnerable’ group of migrants, some of whom had reportedly experienced war and sexual assault.
Campaigners flagged their concerns to Scottish newspaper The Herald before Friday’s attack and called on more mental health support from the Government.
Ronier Deumeni, from charity African Challenge Scotland, which has been giving weekly food packs to black and minority ethnic (BAME) families during lockdown, said the measures imposed to combat coronavirus have triggered ‘post-traumatic stress.’
Police officers attend the scene after the stabbing rampage in a central Glasgow hotel at around 1pm on June 26
Another activist said campaigners had been saying ‘for months’ that the asylum seekers were ‘not well’ and that the attack was a ‘depression’ and ‘mental health issue’ rather than terrorism.
Among the injured in the rampage was a 17-year-old boy, hotel staff and hero police officer Mr Whyte, who raced to the scene of the stabbing spree at around 1pm.
He was critically injured after being stabbed around the eye while trying to overpower the attacker.
Within a matter of a few minutes, firearms officers arrived and the knifeman was shot dead. Dramatic pictures showed hordes of emergency services outside the hotel, including armed officers running through the street.