Man tells jury he was shot while queuing at ice cream van in Balloch

A man has told a jury that as he queued at an ice cream van in Balloch, a gunman jumped out of a van and shot him.

Darren McCafferty, 34, was giving evidence at the trial of Stuart McGinley, 32, from Drumchapel, and Mark Harvey, 33, from Renton, who deny attempting to murder him at on December 20, 2018.

He told the High Court in Glasgow he was standing in the queue when he saw a gunman jump out of a white van, run towards him and shoot him.

Mr McCafferty said the bullet hit him just outside his front door.

The court was told that when police arrived on the scene they found Mr McCafferty bleeding and clutching his abdomen.

Prosecutor Iain McSporran QC said to Mr McCaffertty: “You said to the police Stuart McGinley shot me and Mark Hardie was the van driver,” and he replied: “I'm too terrified to say who shot me that's why I said it was Stuart. I didn't see the driver. Mark Hardie was the only person I knew with a white van.”

The jury heard that Mr McCafferty was rushed to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Glasgow with a bullet wound to his right abdomen and had to undergo an operation.

A police search of Lynn Walk recovered a full metal jacket bullet casing in the front hallway of McCafferty's home.

When asked why he had given McGinley's name when asked who the gunman was Mr McCafferty said: “I just went along with the name the police said. I had been arguing on Facebook with my mate Stuart the week before.”

Mr McSporran asked what the argument was about and the witness said: “I owed him money for a bit of cannabis we had smoked. I owed him £20.”

The prosecutor then asked Mr McCafferty if he had owed a lot more than £20 and he denied this.

Asked to describe the shooting Mr McCafferty told the jury: “A guy jumped out a van parked at the bottom of the street and started chasing me, running towards me. I just caught him out of the corner of my eye.”

Mr McSporran said: “You told the police who shot you,” and Mr McCafferty replied: “No, I told the police who I had been arguing with.”

Pressed about who the mystery man was who he claims shot him, the witness replied: “I'm not going to say for my own safety.”

McGinley is also accused of being concerned in the supply of cannabis and heroin and having a revolver in his possession.

He denies all the charges against him.

The trial before Judge Norman McFadyen continues.

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