A shopkeeper who tried to help a young woman who was stabbed to death in the street as she pushed her baby in a pram has described how there was nothing that could be done to save her life.
Geo Khan recalled his shock at what he witnessed on Saturday afternoon in Bradford as police continued to search for Habibur Masum, 25, in connection with the fatal stabbing.
“I was sitting in my shop and heard screaming,” Mr Khan said on Monday.
“I came out and I tried to check the pulse. There was no pulse.”
He said: “Blood was all over on the floor and there were stab wounds in her neck.”
“Him and me and another guy tried to rescue her, but she was already gone,” Mr Khan said.
“I don’t think she was there any more.”
He said: “Whatever happened, it’s a very sad thing.”
Mr Khan said the woman who died came into his shop the day before the incident, and he believes she only came to the area a few weeks ago.
He said: “She was a very, very innocent person – the smile on her face.”
Samin Ahmed runs Samin’s UK Visas Support Centre, and helped Masum apply for a Schengen visa to visit Europe after he approached him in December.
Mr Ahmed said Masum was in the UK on a student visa and later a post-graduate visa after he obtained his degree.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Masum studied for a masters in marketing and digital marketing at the University of Bedfordshire between 2021 and 2023.
Mr Ahmed said: “I (was) shocked when I heard this news, he is a familiar person nearby me. I did not know anything. I am really shocked.”
A photograph of Masum’s Schengen visa was posted to the Samin’s UK Visas Support Centre Facebook group in January.
He said Masum appeared “friendly” and “said that he is happy” when they last spoke one month ago.
Masum travelled to Barcelona after he was granted the Schengen visa, he added.
West Yorkshire Police has issued an appeal for members of the public to report any sightings of Masum, who is from the Oldham area and is known to the woman.
She is yet to be formally identified, but is understood to be 27 years old, the force said. The baby was not harmed.
A knife was recovered from the scene of the incident, the force said.
Whitehall officials would not comment on the immigration status of Masum during the ongoing manhunt.
But Downing Street said Rishi Sunak’s thoughts are with the family of the victim following the “horrendous incident”.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “I can’t comment more broadly on an ongoing police investigation, but obviously it is being looked at urgently and we will support the police in their efforts to catch the perpetrator and bring them to justice.”
A Home Office spokesman said: “Saturday’s attack on a young woman was appalling, and our thoughts are with her family and loved ones.
“We urge the public to support West Yorkshire Police’s appeal and to come forward if they have any information.
“While a live investigation is ongoing, it would be inappropriate to comment further.”
Masum is described as an Asian man, of slim build.
He is believed to have links to the Burnley and Chester areas.
There was no sign of any police activity in the area on Monday morning but one bunch of flowers had been laid close to where the attack happened.
Any current sightings of Masum should be reported to West Yorkshire Police via 999. Any other information that could assist the investigation should be reported via Live Chat online or by calling 101, quoting log 1071 of April 6.
