'Trainspotting 2' Actor Bradley Welsh Found Dead After Being Shot in Head

Bradley Welsh, a boxer who appeared in T2: Trainspotting with Ewan McGregor, was found shot and [...]

By Daniel S. Levine

Bradley Welsh, a boxer who appeared in T2: Trainspotting with Ewan McGregor, was found shot and killed at his Edinburgh home on Wednesday night. He was 48 years old.

Detective Superintendent Allan Burton said Welsh was shot after retuning from his Holyrood Boxing gym when he was shot, reports the BBC.

"We know from witnesses who were nearby, and from house-to-house inquiries, that he had exited his motor vehicle and walked towards his home address," Burton said. "It's a basement apartment and he was making his way down the stairs and someone has attended at the top of the stairs and shot him."

According to Burton, Welsh's partner and young child were in the house and would have been "caught up in" the shooting if they were leaving the house at that time.

"Any member of the community could have been walking by and been targeted by this individual," Burton continued. "It's a real threat that someone is running about with a gun on the streets of Edinburgh."

One resident told the BBC authorities told him someone was shot in the head and part of the street was cordoned off. Police rushed to the scene after they received "multiple reports" of gunfire.

While police have "no idea" why Welsh was targeted, they believe there is no further danger to the public, reports The Daily Mail.

"To give people reassurance, we believe it's a targeted attack on Mr Welsh and that nobody else in the community is at threat from the shooter and we have no expectations of them returning," Burton said. "We know he was out and training at his gym late afternoon, early evening."

Burton said Welsh was shot just as he was leaving his car and began walking to his home after he spoke with a neighbor. A neighbor tried to save Welsh after the shooting, but he died at the scene.

As police continue to investigate the shooting, Burton asked for anyone who has any information "or have heard any rumours or speculation, or know someone who's acting differently after the events of last night and are suspicious of this individual - please come forward."

According to the Daily Mail, an "underworld source" told The Daily Star Welsh was the "muscle" protecting 3kg of heroin and 2kg of cocaine that disappeared.

"He was the deal's muscle and had a lot of respect but somebody had had enough," the source said. "These gangs are ruthless – they don't care who you are. If something goes wrong then someone has to pay."

Welsh played Doyle in Danny Boyle's 2017 sequel to Trainspotting, which also starred McGregor, Jonny Lee Miller and Ewen Bremmer. It was his first and only film role.

"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," Irvine Welsh, who wrote the novels Trainspotting was based on, wrote on Twitter Thursday.

Welsh also appeared in the series Danny Dyer's Deadliest Men in 2008 and in the 2012 documentary The Boxer from Somewhere Else.

"So sad to hear the news about Bradley Welsh. A good soul with a massive heart," Dyer wrote on Instagram. "A massive loss. Rest in Peace my old son."

Photo credit: Facebook/RIP Bradley Welsh

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