Bonfire Night carnage cops arrest four schoolkids in dramatic early morning raids

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Four teens were among seven people arrested over Bonfire Night riots after a series of dawn raids were carried out by police yesterday in the hunt for the thugs behind Scotland’s firework riots. The crackdown came after ­communities throughout Scotland witnessed disturbing scenes on Bonfire Night, with fireworks set off in public places and used to attack police, fire crews and shops.

The latest raids yesterday morning involved 20 officers and the arrest of four teenagers before they could set off for school. Three other adults, including a 39-year-old woman, were nicked in the operation. All seven of those arrested have been charged with disorder offences.

The Daily Record joined an Operation Moonbeam squad of uniformed and plainclothes officers, coordinated at Gorbals police station in Glasgow. Two men aged 24 and 19, the 39-year-old woman, two 14-year-old boys and boys aged 15 and 16 were arrested

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Inspector Graeme Hogg, who led the crackdown, said: “After the events of November 5, we made a commitment to the people of Pollokshields and elsewhere that we would take action against the people who have been determined to wreak havoc. We said we would identify who was responsible and we have spent many hours gathering evidence via CCTV and private videos shot by local people.

“We have also acted on information provided by concerned members of the public about alleged offenders. The result of our investigation so far is that this morning we have arrested a further seven people in relation to disorder connected to fireworks.”

The aim, he said, was to “put out a message” to those involved in disorder or who would consider being involved. He added: “Moving forward, we will carry out extensive inquiries to identify any other potential offenders and the inquiry will be continuing. It is expected there will be further arrests.”

Inspector Hogg said many months had been spent before November engaging with communities and partners in efforts to keep people safe. He added: “This activity shows we will not tolerate criminality and ensure those who are involved in violence and disorder are identified and reported to the relevant authorities.

“I would like to thank the local communities who have assisted with and supported our inquiries but we still need your help to identify and trace all those involved in the disorder.”

He insisted the public have “a really important role to play” by sharing information or evidence. It can be done via the major incident public portal by calling 101 or anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. The Record was on the scene as police raided homes early yesterday

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As daylight broke through on a freezing morning in Pollokshields, officers filed out of vans to hit homes that were identified after a painstaking scan of CCTV and other evidence. We watched as units of cops emerged from vehicles to hit separate doors within tenement blocks in the area.

Parents of one youth suspected of being involved looked stunned at the drama that was unfolding on their doorstep. They immediately allowed officers to go inside, where the suspect was placed under arrest and taken to a nearby police station to be charged.

At another address a woman was shocked that police asked for her by name when they loudly rapped on the door. She was given time to get ready then marched down the stairs and into a waiting custody van as neighbours on the street watched. Simultaneous raids happened at addresses in nearby Darnley and Paisley at 8am.

The seven people arrested are due to appear in court at a later date. Two people were previously charged in Glasgow over the disorder related to Bonfire Night and further arrests have happened in other parts of ­Scotland.

The abuse of pyrotechnics in recent weeks led to widespread fear in many communities, with police promising to hunt down those responsible. The police action came after they were accused by some residents in riot-hit areas of allowing disorder to unfold on November 5.

In Pollokshields rockets were fired along streets, a car was set alight and a fire was lit in the middle of a road. But officers were not deployed because of fears it would lead to full-on lawlessness.

At the time Inspector Hogg said: “Had we deployed, the risk of injury to public, police and property would have increased. A decision was made to withdraw. It could have ended up in a large-scale riot.”

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Glasgow South West MP Zubir Ahmed described the behaviour as “criminality and chaos”. Photos from Pollokshields of a burning car in the middle of a road fuelled fears a major riot was about to start. Escalating levels of firework mayhem have led to calls to ban the sale of pyrotechnics in Scotland, but a blanket ban is reserved to Westminster.

A legal crackdown, including local firework control zones, was sparked after a riot in Dundee in 2022. But since then communities in Edinburgh and Glasgow have turned into battlegrounds in the run-up to Bonfire Night. City of Edinburgh Council leader Cammy Day led calls for an outright ban on the sale of fireworks after “alarming and dangerous” behaviour in several capital hotspots.

Thugs – many of them in masks – wreaked havoc in the city’s ­Gracemount, Niddrie, Calder Road and Moredun areas on November 5. Police officers were targeted with powerful and potentially lethal fireworks, bricks and bottles amid the disorder.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service received 1000 calls across the country and its crews were attacked in Clydebank, Edinburgh and Blackridge, West Lothian. Edinburgh council imposed control zones – allowed by the Fireworks and Pyrotechnic Articles (Scotland) Act of June 2022 – in Balerno, Calton Hill, Niddrie and Seafield.

But the yobs took no notice, taking to the streets and making parts of Niddrie, Sighthill, Wester Hailes, Gracemount and Moredun no-go areas. During the disturbances, members of the public from across the country and the wider world were angered when fireworks were blamed for the death of Roxie, the four-month-old red panda at Edinburgh Zoo, which cited stress from fireworks being set off in the city as the likely cause.

It came five days after the death at the zoo of its mother, Ginger, with fireworks also a possible cause. Last night, the SNP government’s Community Safety Minister Siobhian Brown said: “I understand why there are a calls for a fireworks ban.

“Although this is a reserved matter and not currently within the Scottish Government’s powers, I have written to the UK Government asking for a meeting to discuss what more can be done on fireworks regulations.”

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