Hunt for men on CCTV after gym shooting

DETECTIVES investigating the shooting of a property developer outside a city gym are hunting two men seen running away from where the suspected getaway vehicle was dumped.

The men were caught on CCTV just 20 minutes after Robert Kelbie was gunned down outside Bannatyne's Health Club in Newcraighall.

A stolen Vauxhall Vectra was abandoned in a car park off West Bryson Road in the Polwarth area following the shooting, which took place at around 7pm on Wednesday, October 20.

The suspects were filmed running down West Bryson Road at 7.23pm and on to Harrison Lane before heading towards the Union Canal path.

Detectives believe the men may have driven straight from the gym to Polwarth before dumping the car and making off on foot.

The inquiry team today appealed for anyone who saw the men running off from West Bryson Road, or saw a silver Vauxhall Vectra being driven in the area around that time, to come forward.

Officers are still trying to determine whether the car, which had been stolen in Glasgow three weeks before the shooting, was the getaway vehicle seen speeding away.

Ex-boxer Mr Kelbie suffered a gunshot wound to his back but was able to drive himself to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary. The 27-year-old discharged himself just hours later.

Detective Chief Inspector Richard Thomas, who is leading the investigation, said: "CCTV shows a car turning into the car park off West Bryson Road at around 7.10pm. About four minutes later, two men are seen running out of the car park.

"From the footage, we can see a number of dog walkers and other passers-by in the area. It was dark at the time, but it seems quite possible that some of these people may have had their attention drawn to two men running.

"There is every chance that these men are linked to the car that was found abandoned.

"It is quite feasible a car could have been driven from the gym to West Bryson Road in 20 minutes. We are trying to establish the route it may have taken.

"If the car has been driven from the gym in Newcraighall into the Polwarth area, that may indicate that it's an area familiar to them, or it's somewhere where they've been staying.

"It's still early to say whether they are local or have come from elsewhere."

The inquiry team is working with Strathclyde Police to determine whether the shooting has links to criminals in Glasgow. The car was found the morning after the shooting when its interior was set on fire in a suspected bid to destroy evidence.

Mr Kelbie's shooting was followed the next morning by an attack on a man at a yard in Portobello. A man was later taken to the ERI where he was guarded by armed police.