A major police investigation is underway after an Edinburgh charity worker was shot and killed last night.
Bradley Welsh ran charity projects in the city to help young people stay fit and out of trouble through his Holyrood Boxing Gym and was also involved with charity Helping Hands which fights inequality in the city.
Armed police officers attended the scene in Chester Street around 8pm last night following reports of a disturbance.
Three ambulances and paramedics also attended but Mr Welsh sadly died at the scene.
The area was cordoned off to allow for a full forensic examination and detectives have appealed for information.
A Police Scotland statement said: “Police in Edinburgh received a report of a disturbance in Chester Street at around 8pm on Wednesday “On arrival of emergency services a man was found seriously injured and sadly passed away at the scene.
“His death is being treated as suspicious and inquiries are continuing. “Officers will continue to provide a high-visibility presence in the area to engage with the public, offer reassurance and gather information that can assist with this investigation.
“Anyone who believes they have any relevant information should contact police immediately.”
Mr Welsh was a well-known figure in the capital. A lifelong Hibs’ supporter he became a football casual in the late 1980s with the infamous CCS.
In 1993 he won the British ABA lightweight title before turning professional and training in the USA.
In 2008 he also featured on ‘Danny Dyer’s ‘Deadliest Men’ a television show where Dyer interviewed some of the most dangerous and feared men in the UK but in more recent times, he devoted his time to charity work.
In 2017 he featured alongside Ewan McGregor, Ewen Bremner, Jonny Lee Miller, and Robert Carlyle in T2 Trainspotting, playing gangland figure and sauna owner Mr Doyle who terrorised Renton and Sickboy in the film.
He was a close friend although not related to author Irvine Welsh, who wrote Trainspotting and last night the novelist tweeted: Bradley John Welsh, my heart is broken.
‘Goodbye my amazing and beautiful friend. Thanks for making me a better person and helping me to see the world in a kinder and wiser way.’
Hundreds of friends and associates have taken to social media to pay tributes and threads have opened on both Hibs.net and Jambo Kickback.
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
