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Gary Weir

Age: 24

Sex: male

Date: 7 Aug 2016

Place: Shettleston Juniors Ground, Glasgow

Gary Weir was stabbed in a brawl outside a social club in Glasgow in the early hours of Sunday morning 7 August 2016.

Five men were tried for his murder but acquitted. After the fifth man was acquitted, a woman in the gallery shouted out, 'It’s a f****** joke'.

Gary Weir was found near Shettleston Juniors ground on 7 August 2016 with stab wounds and taken to hospital where he later died.

He had been stabbed in the heart.

Three of his other friends were also stabbed and the men tried were also tried with the attempted murder of one of them.

Gary Weir had been part of a group of revellers from a 21st birthday party held at the Juniors Social Club that had clashed with another group who had been drinking earlier at the Marquis Bar in Shettleston.

The group from the Marquis Bar had left the bar at about 12.10am on 7 August 2016 singing Celtic songs and had met Gary Weir's group outside the social club where the fight took place.

It was suggested that the fight started after someone flicked a cigarette at somebody.

One of the men tried for Gary Weir's murder said that he saw the fight start, but that he and three of his friends soon left and went off down Duror Street, close by. The man said that he was later told by one of the other men on trial that the murderer was a fifth man that was also on trial and who was the last person to be acquitted of murder. However, the prosecution disputed what he said and accused him of lying. At the trial the man said, 'I got told it was him. It was him that done it. That's what I got told by the other man'. However, the prosecution asked why he had not mentioned the fifth man until he gave a later police statement on 18 August 2016 at Cathcart police station and the man replied, 'I told the truth on the 18th. Why would I just pick a random guy and say he's a murderer. I got told it was him who murdered Gary and I told the police the truth'. The prosecution then showed the man a statement in which he admitted that he was scared of the man that they were saying had murdered Gary Weir. In the statement the man had said, 'The man and the other man were both in about that fight and others I don't know. I've heard that the man is related to the family who have a reputation in the east end of Glasgow. I don’t want to be known as a grass'. The prosecution then said, 'There is nothing about the other man scaring you. You told the police the one person not in the fight was the first man because he was knocked to the ground'. The man then said, 'I would never stick someone in for 25 years for something he hadn't done'. The prosecution then said, 'There is no way you would have named the man', and the man replied, 'I would have if he had done it'.

One of the men that had been in Gary Weir's group said that he was stabbed five times in the shoulder and back. He said that he had been at his cousin's 21st birthday party and that as he left to get a taxi he heard some shouting and then saw a brawl taking place. He said, 'I ran into a group of boys that were scuffling and then they ran away. I didn't realise I'd been stabbed until I saw blood on my shirt. I remember throwing my arms about, throwing punches and then I can't remember anything until the guys ran away'. He said that he then saw Gary Weir lying on the ground injured.

The last man left on trial for murder, the fifth man said that he saw the other man that the previous man was accused of being afraid of meet Gary Weir in the middle of the street and then start to fight and then saw him making stabbing motions against Gary Weir outside the social club. He said that he saw the man fighting with Gary Weir and that the man then then made gestures towards him and then threw something away and then ran off. The last man on trial denied murdering Gary Weir and said, 'I'm telling the truth today'. He said that he saw Gary Weir go up to the other man quickly in the street. He said, 'They just kind of went head to head at each other, there was a wee push and shove, that's when Gary punched him, knocked him on to the ground'. He said that after that he was scuffling with someone and then saw the man making the stabbing motions at Gary Weir towards his chest. He described it as 'two poking motions' and said that it 'didn't look like a punch'. The last man tried said that he then continued to fight for a few seconds and then saw Gary Weir slumped on the pavement and said that he then ran off down Duror Street with some other people. The last man tried said that he then became separated from his friend and then took a taxi home. He said that the man that he saw stab Gary Weir and who was said to have been in the feared family then came to see him the next day to say that he had 'already warned' others. He said, 'I think he knew I seen him throw whatever he flung and seen him do what he done to Gary' and said that the man was essentially threatening him to say nothing.

The men were each acquitted at various stages of the trial:

  • 21-year-old about 22 November 2017, was acquitted after the prosecution withdrew the charges against him.
  • 21-year-old about 22 November 2017, was acquitted after the prosecution withdrew the charges against him.
  • 24-year-old 24 November 2017, was acquitted after the prosecution withdrew the charges against him.
  • 21-year-old 24 November 2017, was acquitted after the prosecution withdrew the charges against him.
  • 21-year-old 1 December 2017, was acquitted by the jury.

After Gary Weir was murdered, Gary Weir's brother said that the police were a 'f** disgrace'. On his Facebook social media page shortly after the murder, he wrote, 'Aw er the fuckin papers cops wer doin ther best my balls they dragged his twin brother away when he was tryin ti console his brother on a cold wet Shettleson St. Ther a fuckin disgrace n they shld gt no praise n the fact tht members of my family even spoke to these frauds makes me fuckin sick. The harrasment he gt the past 4 year forgottin about so they can gt a monthly target of convictions up to look good for tjer superiors n they pretend they care'. He ended his message with the acronym ACAB which meant amongst certain people, 'All Cops Are Bastards'. His post was noted as receiving hundreds of likes and a lot of supportive messages from friends.

One of the supportive messages read, 'The polis are scumbag bastards mate always have been always will be bro'.

Another read, 'F** scum. Keep strong'.

Whilst another read, 'F* the polis. ACAB'.

A friend of the family later said in reference to the Facebook post and the comments, 'The family have had a difficult relationship with police over the past few years. It’s not surprising to see the family lashing out at them after something as traumatic as this'.


*map pointers are rough estimates based on known location details as per Place field above.