Tributes have been paid to a “kind, thoughtful” teenager who was one of two youths who died following an event at a nightclub, with police investigating the deaths as drug-related.
The 18-year-old, who has been named locally as Marcus Dick, died after attending the SWG3 venue in Glasgow at the weekend, as did another youth of the same age.
Police said both deaths are being treated as drug-related but they are not believed to be linked.
Marcus was a former pupil of Coatbridge High School and headteacher Christine Creaney paid tribute to him.
She said: “On behalf of the whole school community, I would like to convey my deepest condolences to Marcus’s family at this very sad time.
“He was a popular young man with a large friendship group and showed himself to be a kind, thoughtful and valued member of our school community.
“We are devastated by this news and our thoughts are with his friends and family.
“We will offer support to our pupils at this difficult time.”
The two youths died within hours of each other after reportedly attending a performance by DJ Ben Hemsley at SWG3 on Saturday evening.
We are absolutely devastated that there were two fatalities amongst audience members following the event on Saturday— SWG3 spokesperson
Police were called to a report of an 18-year-old taking unwell in the Constarry Road area of Croy, North Lanarkshire, at around 11.20pm on Saturday.
He was taken to the University Hospital Monklands in Airdrie, but died a short time later.
In the early hours of Sunday, another 18-year-old became unwell on Eastvale Place in Glasgow’s west end, the location of SWG3.
He later died in Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, Glasgow.
On Facebook, a spokesperson for SWG3 said: “We are absolutely devastated that there were two fatalities amongst audience members following the event on Saturday.
“We are currently supporting the police with their inquiries and our deepest sympathies are with the family members and friends at this incredibly difficult time.”
Chief Superintendent Mark Sutherland, divisional commander for greater Glasgow, previously said: “Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of the two men who have lost their lives.
“So far in our inquiries it has been established that both of these men, who were unknown to each other, attended the same event in the Eastvale Place area of Glasgow on Saturday night.
“However, inquiries remain ongoing and although we are investigating both deaths as drug-related at this time, there is no evidence to suggest there is a connection between these deaths.
“We are committed to establishing the full circumstances and are working with the venue, colleagues in the NHS and Public Health Scotland as our inquiries continue to ensure a partnership and public health-led approach.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 101, quoting incident number 4538 of August 12.
Information can also be reported anonymously to Crimestoppers on or through Fearless – an anonymous reporting site for young people at crimestoppers-uk.org.
