The boxing gym boss and Trainspotting actor, 48, was shot once in the back of his head outside his Edinburgh flat
TRAINSPOTTING 2 star Bradley Welsh’s execution was ordered by Glaswegian gangsters, his shattered loved ones fear.
The boxing gym boss, 48, was blasted in the back of his head with a sawn-off shotgun outside his £500,000 flat in Edinburgh’s plush West End.
His assassination sent shockwaves through the gangland scene — where the dad-of-one had many associates.
Last night it emerged he had been sent an 'Osman letter' from Police Scotland last night to warn him that there was a threat to his life.
A family source said: “It has to have been a Glasgow mob.”
Welsh was executed from behind outside his home seconds after he chatted to a neighbour.
The shocked local turned after hearing a single gunshot and saw the T2 star tumbling down steps to his basement flat as a man ran away.
He raced to help Welsh but he was already dead.
Sources dubbed Wednesday’s execution a “professional” hit as cops continued a major probe into the ex-footie hooligan’s murder.
He was shot once in the back of the head outside his £500,000 pad in Edinburgh’s West End where his long-term partner Emma and daughter Eva, eight, were inside.
Detective Superintendent Allan Burton said: “All of Mr Welsh’s past will be looked at — his association, his friendships, his business contacts and people through his gym.
“We’ll find out who is responsible and we will bring them to justice.
“We have a witness who spoke to Brad in the street when he arrived home and he heard one bang.
“He looked round and saw Mr Welsh falling down the steps and the man running in the direction of Walker Street. The neighbour wasn’t paying attention to what was going until he heard the bang.”
He added: “Where the shooter has come from we are still trying to establish. Whether has been lying in wait, got out a car or followed him we don’t know.
“Thankfully Brad’s family were inside the house and only became aware when officers entered.”
The hitman struck after Welsh returned home in his Fiat Panda from his training base in Niddrie around 8pm on Wednesday.
Det Supt Burton added cops were not aware of any recent threats against Welsh.
He added: “We’ll be looking into his movements over the past few weeks and months and see if there is something which could be the catalyst for this.
“We will also be looking at his associates, family and friends. The answer to this lies within his past.
“If there is any connection to Glasgow that will be an area I will look at with particular interest.
“We’ll be looking at other crimes that have occurred within Edinburgh over the past four months to see if there is any connection.
“Over the next few days we will get a clearer picture on who is behind it. Although one person was seen running away it’s possible other people were in the vicinity.”
The slaying sent shockwaves through Edinburgh where the ex-boxing champ and former Hibs casual helped run the Helping Hands anti-poverty charity.
And his plush street was in lockdown as forensic teams hunted for clues.
We can reveal Welsh — a close pal of caged underworld kingpin Mark Richardson — feared being shot by Glaswegian hoods.
An insider said: “Brad used to say he had to be careful who he f***** off in Glasgow as they have form for shooters. He was pretty paranoid about it.
“Brad wasn’t into that. He was old school and preferred to use his fists. He would say he’d never use a gun or a knife in a scrap.”
It is understood Welsh, who also featured on Danny Dyer’s Hardest Men show, had business interests outside of boxing.
And he was close to millionaire David McMillan, 48, who was stabbed in his home last month. It is understood cops will investigate if the attacks are linked.
It came as shattered relatives told of their heartache.
One said: “We are all devastated. Brad’s young daughter and partner were in the house and some guy has just shot him in the head.
“It’s outrageous that someone could do that to Brad on his own doorstep. The family are distraught and in a shock — it’s like walking about in a daze.”
Stunned neighbours in Chester Street — where the average house price is £700,000 — told of their shock.
A woman said: “I was in the kitchen and heard a bang. I ran through to my boyfriend then there were loads of SWAT teams — the police were here super-quick.”
Welsh was previously caged for terrorising estate agents before he told of quitting crime to help underprivileged children.
And he spoke of a wave of gun crime in the capital weeks before his murder in James English’s Anything Goes podcast.
He said: “Firearms are very prevalent in Edinburgh and that seems to be the new game.
“These are young boys who are international criminals. They’re not just dealing in Possilpark.”
Recalling his shame at his criminal past, he added: “Through school into my teen years I developed a reputation on the streets of Edinburgh as being involved in gang culture. I started organising our young groups and I’m not proud to say it but taxing people and stuff when I was really young, at 13.
“Totally wrong and I’m embarrassed but it’s part of who I was.”
In another interview published almost exactly one year before he was gunned down, he said of his past: “It’s always with me but I don’t have to atone myself for anybody. The things I did, they were wrong, but I understand why I did them, because I had f*** all. Of course, I regret them.
“I have a daughter and a wee boy who is like a son to me, and I want a better society. That’s why I do what I do.”
As murder probe cops appealed for CCTV and dash cam footage, city commander Chief Inspector David Robertson pledged to boost patrols in the area and support Welsh’s grieving loved ones.
He said: “We understand the profound impact this incident will have had, both on those connected to the victim, and to the local community of the West End.
“Edinburgh remains a safe place to live, work and visit.”
