THIS wasn’t a topic that I had planned to write about this week. Usually my column is used to express frustration with the political leadership of either Glasgow City Council or the Scottish Government.

But when tragedy strikes Glasgow there is nothing else this city needs than to unite and come together in support of those affected.

On Friday afternoon I was taking part in the Glasgow Conservatives’ first BAME reach-out call, speaking about how my party can speak up for those forgotten communities in Glasgow. It was during this call I started to receive the worst news imaginable – an attack had taken place in our city and multiple people had been injured. Now, as I write this article, the latest news is that one person – the suspect – has been shot and killed, while six others including a police officer are being treated at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital. I know that all our hearts go out to them and their families at this time.

There has been a lot of discussion in recent weeks regarding the nature of policing in this country, but what events like this remind us is that fundamentally the vast majority of police men and women in the UK are motivated by a desire to protect each and every one of us. Nowhere was this more evident than on Friday when the brave men and women of our police force, despite the horror that was unfolding in the Park Inn Hotel, ran towards danger and risked their own lives to preserve the lives of others. Those officers are really the embodiment of the Glasgow spirit and we should be so proud of them.

As I stated in my first column for the Glasgow Times, the slogan “People Make Glasgow” is so effective because it’s so true. While we pray for the recovery of those that have been injured I can’t help but think of our beautiful city and wonder how Glasgow can recover from such a tragedy. The answer is that we invoke that Glasgow spirit of resilience. Sure, Glaswegians have our downfalls – we can be argumentative, straight-talking and brutally honest – but we are also amongst the friendliest and most caring in the world.

At the time of writing we don’t have the full details of the case but even now there are some on social media that are seeking to exploit this attack in order to raise tensions, scapegoat communities and harness bigotry. I know I speak for the vast majority of this city when I say that we reject this rhetoric. I’m sure there will be a time once this matter has been properly investigated when lessons can be learned. But for now all our energies should be on wishing those affected a speedy recovery and, as we have before in times of tragedy, on coming together again as a city.