On July 15, 1969, a lone gunman embarked on a horrifying 90-minute shooting spree in what would be one of Glasgow's bloodiest days in living memory.
Armed with a sawn-off shotgun and a .32 rifle the twisted shooter didn't care who he hit as he took pot shots at random people from the top floor window of a tenement flat in Kelvinbridge.
One person was killed and a total of 15 people were injured in the shooting, including a boy aged seven and a policeman.
READ MORE: The police murders that shook 1960s Glasgow
In the week leading up to the fateful incident, the culprit, 34-year-old James Griffiths, had been wanted by police over the murder of OAP Rachel Ross. The 72-year-old died after she and her businessman husband were beaten and robbed in their Ayr home on July 6, 1969. Griffiths’ associate Paddy Meehan was eventually convicted of her murder but later found to be innocent.
The siege
Acting on a tip-off, unarmed detectives arrived at the flat in Holyrood Crescent near the Great Western Road to quiz Griffiths over the killing. At 11.30am the murder suspect began shooting from the window of the property.
Griffiths, draped in a bandolier of ammunition, sparked terror as he shot indiscriminately into the crowded street below and took aim at a playpark where young children had been innocently enjoying themselves in the sweltering summer sunshine just minutes earlier.
Sicko Griffiths claimed a number of victims during the onslaught, including a youth who was shot in the neck and a woman who sustained a shot to the arm.
Making his way onto the roof via a skylight, Griffiths then made a run for it across the rooftops before climbing down a few streets away and speeding off in a getaway car.
After crashing the vehicle some two miles away in Carnbrae Street, Possilpark, the still armed Griffiths burst through the doors of the Round Toll Bar, fired two shots into the ceiling, and demanded brandy. As he took a swig from a bottle, he was tackled by an elderly customer William Hughes.
Griffiths shot William Hughes, who sadly later died from the injury in hospital, then made yet another bid for freedom by stealing a three-ton lorry which he drove to Kay Street in Springburn.
The killer gained entry to a tenement flat and recommenced his siege from yet another top floor window.
Eventually, at 12.30pm, firearms specialist Detective Sergeant Ian Smith and Chief Superintendent Malcolm Finlayson managed to enter the tenement close without Griffiths spotting them.
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Sticking his rifle through the letterbox to the flat, police chief Finlayson spotted Griffiths and shot him in the shoulder. The two policemen then forced entry to the property and carried Griffiths' lifeless body out on to the street.
It was the first time in Scotland's history that police had shot a man dead.
Griffiths, from Rochdale, killed one and left 15 people injured during his shooting spree. His youngest victim was seven-year-old Peter Traynor, who was hit in the abdomen when a bullet ricocheted off of his friend's glass bottle of Barr's limeade.
Speaking with the Daily Record on the 50th anniversary of the horror incident, Peter praised the bravery of the policemen who managed to take Griffiths out and prevent further injuries and deaths.
He said: "I didn’t realise I’d been hit at first. My sister and I were in the playground when we could see Griffiths standing at the kitchen window with his rifle.
“She walked up to a fence and pointed at him and called me over.
“We’d no idea what was going on but he was looking at us. Then about four police vans came into the street and Griffiths started shooting at anything that moved.
“We ran back towards the swing park. Griffiths opened fire on the playground and hit the bottle of limeade in my brother’s hand. Everyone started screaming and ran as fast as they could. The police took us into a nearby pub called Shevlanes.
“I remember there was a guy who’d been shot and was lying injured, covered with a blanket. Even inside the pub, you could still hear the shots being fired.
“I was given first aid and taken to hospital. The bullet grazed my stomach but it could have been a lot worse for me and my brother.
“If it was not for the two police officers who got Griffiths, there would have been more injuries and deaths. My family are very grateful for their bravery.”
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