Man held as eight-hour siege at restaurant ends peacefully

By MARTYN MCLAUGHLIN
Published on Saturday 11 February 2012 12:55

A MAN was in custody last night after a dramatic stand-off lasting almost eight hours between armed police and a lone man alleged to have an explosive device strapped to his body was brought to a peaceful end.

Dozens of police surrounded Amarone restaurant, just off Buchanan Street in Glasgow, in mid-afternoon, while scores of office workers were evacuated from nearby buildings and traffic was brought to a standstill.

Strathclyde Police negotiators spoke to the man, who was sat alone in the restaurant in the city’s Nelson Mandela Square throughout the evening.

Onlookers at the scene claimed the man had gone in and placed an order, before telling a member of staff that he was carrying a bomb.

The restaurant was evacuated and numerous officers stood guard at cordons around Buchanan Street, each about 200 metres from the restaurant, while hundreds of members of the public stood looking on.

Nearer to the restaurant, officers with protective clothing, explosive shields and police dogs could be seen patrolling nearby streets and around Buchanan Galleries shopping centre. A Royal Navy bomb disposal unit arrived shortly after 7pm. Fire engines and ambulances were also on standby.

About half a dozen police vans could be seen around the restaurant’s entrance, only a hundred yards from the busy Buchanan Galleries complex, while a police helicopter circled overhead helping to co-ordinate the operation.

Superintendent Brian Mc-Inulty said last night: “Around 3:40pm this afternoon, police responded to a call about a man acting suspiciously within Amarone restaurant in Nelson Mandela Place.

“It is too early to speculate as to his motives, however, the police response was appropriate to the nature of the incident.

“There has been disruption to roads and transport in the city centre, and we would apologise for any inconvenience. However, our priority is the safety of people living, working and socialising in the city centre and this action was necessary due what was taking place.”

The stand-off continued until 11:25pm, when the man finally emerged from the restaurant of his own volition and was taken into custody.

A police spokesman said he had been persuaded to leave the building by force negotiators and had been taken to hospital for checks.

One eyewitness, who was in a nearby Starbucks coffee shop looking out on to Nelson Mandela Place at the time of the incident, said police had ushered them out of a rear door on to West Nile Street.

Carolyn McGhee, 23, said: “I heard an alarm going off sometime around four o’clock, I can’t remember when. It was loud but just like any alarm so I didn’t think much.

“But about ten past or quarter past three, police officers came in and told everyone they had to get out immediately. They said it was an ‘ongoing incident’ but they didn’t say what was happening.”

A spokeswoman for Amarone said that staff had been ordered by police without explanation to evacuate the restaurant and told they would not be able to open last night. They had to contact customers to cancel bookings.