A TAP ON WINDOW.. THEN BOYD IS SHOT IN FRONT OF FIANCEE; 'SPECKY' BROTHER LURED INTO TRAP AT HOUSE: Hitmen kill faithful hound as it tries to protect him.

Byline: David Taylor; Donna Watson

THE brother of a gangland enforcer was shot four times when gunmen lured him from his home.

Eddie Boyd went into his garden after one of the men, who he is believed to know, tapped on a window.

He was then gunned down in front of his fiancee and his faithful pet dog killed as it tried to protect him.

Boyd, brother of the late drugs baron Stewart "Specky" Boyd, was fighting for his life last night as police cordoned off the area and carried out a fingertip search.

It was the fifth attempt to kill Boyd, who has a reported pounds 50,000 bounty on his head, and came just weeks before he was due to marry partner Sharon MacPherson.

Sharon, 36, could only watch as the men blasted four bullets into Boyd's chest outside his home in Pollok, Glasgow, just after 8.30pm on Tuesday.

Masks Their dog Taz, a chow, was shot dead after it growled at the gunmen.

The couple's three children, all aged under seven, are believed to have been in the house at the time.

A gangland source told the Record the gunmen weren't wearing masks because they were sure their target would die.

They said: "Boyd was meant to have been taken out.

"He would have known the shooters, as none of them wore masks, meaning he wasn't supposed to live to be able to identify the culprits.

"By not wearing masks, they were able to get him out of the safety of his house, thinking they just wanted a chat and that there was nothing to fear.

"The dog would have been killed, as chows are very loyal pets and would have had a go at anyone attempting to hurt their owner."

Forensics officers yesterday continued to scour Haughburn Road, where the shooting happened, and the surrounding streets for clues. Neighbours insisted they had not seen or heard anything.

One young woman, who refused to be named, said: "Everyone's pretty sure who did it. It's not as if Eddie has never been involved in anything like this before.

"People round here don't want to be drawn into it, but this probably won't be the last we'll hear of it."

Boyd survived four previous shootings, including a botched hit, just yards from his front door.

In June 2007, he was uninjured during a drive-by shooting that left Taz shot in the leg. Boyd also survived three drive-by shootings in 2003.

His brother Stewart "Specky" Boyd was a feared gangland figure and was heavily involved in a number of Glasgow security companies.

He was killed in a crash in 2003 just outside Malaga, Spain, in which four people, including his 21-year-old daughter Nicola, also died.

Eddie was taken to the city's Southern General Hospital where he was still being treated last night. Hospital staff described his condition as serious but stable.

Police are treating the incident as attempted murder.

Detective Inspector Scott McMillan at Gorbals CID, who is leading the investigation, said he wants to trace the movements of a silver BMW, later found burned out in Swinton Place, Cardonald.

CAPTION(S):

FEARED: Specky died in Spain SEARCH: Forensics officers comb the garden where Boyd was shot