Police investigate ‘mobbing and rioting’ on Glasgow Bonfire Night.

Officers are working to identify those involved in the disturbances in Pollokshields on November 5.

Two people have already been arrested, including a man who allegedly distributed fireworks from his car.

Local MP, Glasgow South West MP Zubir Ahmed, called the behavior “criminality and mayhem” during an emergency public meeting to discuss the disorder.

A Police Scotland spokesman, who was on duty on the night of the disorder, said officers had withdrawn and police had been kept on standby to avoid a “widespread riot”.

A fireworks ban intended for the area did not take place due to a board error.

Pollokshields was to get the city’s first Fireworks Control Zone (FCZ) after serious anti-social behavior related to fireworks.

It would have been Scotland’s second designated control area after the Scottish Government gave councils new powers in 2022 following the Dundee riots.

A night of explosions in Pollokshields on Bonfire Night followed more than two weeks of escalating anti-social behavior involving fireworks.

Police said a car was set on fire on Herriot Street by a firework that exploded underneath it late Tuesday night.

It was revealed at the meeting that officers were withdrawn from the area after they “came under attack” a short time later and a firework was fired under a police car.

Riot police were deployed to the area as part of Operation Moonbeam, but were kept in a reserved position while police monitored the area via three CCTV cameras.

A bonfire made of rubbish, fences and bins was lit on a mini roundabout and fireworks were set off until the early hours of the morning.

Residents at the meeting said they were upset the emergency services did not stop her, but were told she was not considered “to be a risk to the general public”.

“Firefighters felt that if they were deployed they would become the target and so they would need police protection, at which point the police would become the target,” the police spokesman said.

“No one wants to set off fireworks, but if we had deployed to try to put this out, there was every possibility that it would have turned into a full-scale riot with lots of people on the street going on for several hours and possibly with national media attention in relation to the disorder and scenes we saw in Edinburgh”.

He added that the police strategy was an attempt “to avoid behavior designed to attract the police and attack them”.

“Please be assured that we are taking this very seriously and are working as hard as we can to try and bring these criminals to justice.

“Mobbing and rioting is a very serious allegation, so hopefully it will deter anyone next year.”

Residents who spoke at the meeting complained that there were no police patrols before the worst of the disturbance began. They felt they were left as targets.

“It’s too dangerous for your officers to go where we live, where we have to get home from work, where we lock up,” one said.

“Your response to us seems to be ‘suck it up,’ and I find that disappointing.”

One resident brought in pieces of metal shrapnel he had found from fireworks he thought were illegal.

Another man said: “If you have riot shields and the rest, we’d welcome it.

“We’re trying to get home from work, we’re trying to go out and just have a normal life, and we’re being targeted with fireworks being fired at us.”

Residents were told officers were working around the clock to review “hours and hours” of video footage.

A man and a juvenile were arrested during the night, and three other suspects have already been identified.

Police believe most of the perpetrators were adults – mostly from the area – and many of the fireworks were bought online and hidden in cars and flats.

Ameen Mohammed, chairman of Pollokshields Community Council, said there had been a crackdown on cash and carry shops where youths used to buy industrial-grade fireworks.

“I think in recent years with social media, especially Instagram, people can get an UberEats-type fireworks delivery delivered to their home — it’s a difficult thing to deal with,” he said.

Three local councilors attended the meeting – Zen Gani, Norman MacLeod and Jon Molyneux – but the city council was unable to provide an officer to address the meeting at short notice.

Cllr Molyneux, who is campaigning for a city-wide fireworks ban to avoid stigmatizing some areas, said he hoped an FCZ next year would “make clear what an offense is and help people report the disorder”.

He added: “We would hope that the police response would be a bit more focused rather than spread out … if there are more isolated pieces of disorder.”

Dr Ahmed said he would support Luton North MP Sarah Owen’s private member’s bill, which he is calling for restrictions on the sale of fireworks.

In a social media post, Dr Ahmed thanked the police for their “constructive updates” on “crime and mayhem in the Night of Fire“.

“We will work to ensure this level of vandalism never returns to our streets,” he added.