A TOP detective has said it is only by sheer luck that an innocent bystander wasn't hit during a targeted shooting in Glasgow's East End.

Detective Inspector John Morrison slammed the gun thugs responsible for carrying out the hit on 42-year-old Brian McGloin in Shettleston on Saturday night as he appealed for the public to come forward with information.

We previously reported that two masked men forced their way into a flat in Wellshot Road and shot the victim.

He is now in a serious but stable condition in Glasgow's Royal Infirmary.

Detective Inspector John Morrison, who is leading this investigation, said: "Yet again, a small community of Glasgow has had to endure another violent incident involving a firearm and again it is only by sheer luck that no innocent bystander has been injured or worse.

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"Whilst the 42-year-old man was the intended target, this doesn’t make it any less serious. This type of incident will not be tolerated and we are working tirelessly to identify the people responsible in addition to the motive behind it. However, the officers have been experiencing real challenges in obtaining information as a number of people they've attempted to speak to are not being co-operative with the police.

"This could be due to fear of retribution or some other reason, however, if anyone has any concerns about providing information to police it can be done so confidentially via Crimestoppers, you do not have to give your name when calling them. If you call the police with information, we do have mechanisms in place to protect you, so please do not hesitate to contact us.

"We know that there are people out there who have information that would assist with our enquiry, and we would urge them to pass that information."

Police Scotland said that the force was not in a position to link this to a similar murder bid in nearby Tollcross last month.

Two masked gunmen blasted a 38-year-old man in the head with a gun in a property in Cuthelton Terrace.

The area's top cop has reassured the public that he will send specialist officers into Shettleston in the wake of this shooting.

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Chief Inspector Patrick Murphy, Area Commander for Glasgow East, said: "I would like to reassure the residents of Shettleston that we have specialist officers deployed to this enquiry in order to identify those responsible for this attack.

"Residents will see increased activity in the area and additional patrols have been deployed to reassure the public. I would ask anyone who has any concerns or information to contact any of those officers.

"I would ask that anyone who has any information to contact the Police or Crimestoppers. We welcome and need the communities help and I would urge anyone with any information to come forward. This level of criminality and violence will not be tolerated in our communities."

Anyone with information is asked to contact police via 101 quoting reference number 3725 of 13 October 2018. Alternatively please contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111, where information can be passed in confidence.