'Wild West' Murder on Busy London Street
A 24-year-old man has been sentenced to life imprisonment for what a judge described as a 'Wild West' style murder on one of London's busiest streets. Awad Abdel Samad fatally stabbed 19-year-old Mohamed Abdi on 4 June 2024 on Edgware Road, in an attack that terrified numerous members of the public.
Revenge Motive Behind Fatal Confrontation
Judge Lynn Tayton told the Old Bailey that Samad was motivated by revenge, believing incorrectly that Mr Abdi had been involved in the kidnapping and torture of his friend, Soufian Chafi, two days earlier. Footage of that prior attack, showing the victim "naked and humiliated," had been circulated on social media. Although there was no evidence linking Mr Abdi to that incident, Samad and his co-defendant, 27-year-old Mohamad Mahmoud El-Hazzaa from Westminster, both held this belief.
The court heard that on the day of the murder, Samad was a passenger in a Seat Leon driven by El-Hazzaa. The victim, driving a Porsche Cayenne, pulled up behind their car and flashed his lights. Both vehicles stopped, and Samad emerged armed with a knife.
A Fatal Pursuit and Public Terror
Prosecutor Bill Emlyn Jones KC described the scene as resembling "something from the Wild West." Mr Abdi also got out of his car armed with a knife, but Samad quickly gained the upper hand by kicking the weapon from the victim's grasp. Disarmed, Mr Abdi retreated into his Porsche in an attempt to escape.
Samad pursued him, reaching the car door before it could be closed. He then stabbed Mr Abdi three times, with one blow to the chest piercing through his ribs and into his heart. As Samad fled in the waiting Seat Leon, the critically injured Mr Abdi managed to drive his Porsche into nearby Bell Street, where members of the public and paramedics tried in vain to save him.
Judge Tayton emphasised the brutality of the crime, stating Samad "acted with extreme aggression and persistence" on a "congested street where there were many people in vehicles and on foot," causing significant public fear.
In a victim impact statement, Mr Abdi's mother, Sharon, and sister, Amirah, remembered him as a "cherished son and a loving brother" and "a young man who had much to live for." The judge acknowledged their profound loss, noting "they fear his life has been stolen."
Awad Abdel Samad was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 27 years for murder. Mohamad Mahmoud El-Hazzaa received a three-year prison sentence for attempting to pervert the course of justice.
