The judge jailed him for a minimum of 27 years and said he ‘acted with extreme aggression and persistence’ in the ‘revenge attack’
Moment police swooped to arrest Awad Abdel Samad
Police have released body worn camera footage showing the moment several officers swooped on a corner shop to catch a wanted murderer who stabbed a rival to death in scenes likened to the “Wild West”. Awad Abdel Samad, 24, stabbed Mohamed Abdi, 19, three times including once in the chest, which went through the cartilage of the ribs and into his heart, when the pair got out of their cars on the busy Edgware Road.
Abdel Samad, of Weatherbury Talbot Road in Westminster, claimed he acted in self-defence when he killed Mr Abdi on the evening of June 4, 2024, but he, in fact, believed the teenager had been involved in the kidnapping and torture of a friend two days prior and took the chance to exact revenge, a judge told the Old Bailey on Thursday.
Judge Lynn Tayton sentenced Samad to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 27 years, adding: “You acted with extreme aggression and persistence in attacking Mr Abdi. I am satisfied this was a revenge attack and you acted as part of a group.
“It took place on a congested street where there were many people in vehicles and on foot. You can see how terrifying this was to members of the public.”
Detective Chief Inspector Matthew Denby, of Specialist Crime South, said: “The attack which left Abdi dead took just 25 seconds. Samad tried to evade police and escape justice. He even travelled to a hospital in Luton, giving a fake name, to be treated for injuries he sustained in the attack.
“Officers used advanced analysis of technical data alongside CCTV of the event to prove without doubt that Samad was the person who killed Abdi and trace them away from the scene.”
On June 2, 2024, the defendant’s friend Soufian Chafi was kidnapped and tortured, with footage of the attack posted on social media showing him “naked and being humiliated,” the judge told the court. Samad and his co-defendant Mohamad Mahmoud El-Hazzaa, 27, from Bruckner Street, Westminster, both believed Mr Abdi was involved, the court heard.
“There is evidence that Mohammed Abdi , the victim in this case, had been involved in that attack,” Judge Tayton said. “In any event, I am satisfied that the two of you believed that he was and that a black Porsche Cayenne car was also connected to it.”
The incident on June 4 involved Abdel Samad and Mr Abdi, who knew each other, heading in the same direction in heavy traffic. Samad was in the front passenger seat of a Seat Leon, which was being driven by El-Hazzaa, the court heard.
Mr Abdi was driving a Porsche Cayenne, which he pulled close up behind the defendants’ car, flashing his lights. Both cars stopped and Samad got out of the vehicle with a knife.
Prosecutor Bill Emlyn Jones KC previously told jurors: “It is, you might have thought, like something from the Wild West. Mohamed Abdi clearly saw him coming and got out. The two of them then started to fight – Mohamed Abdi was also armed with a knife.
“But within a few seconds of the start of their fighting, the defendant gained a crucial advantage. He swung a kick and managed to kick Mohamed Abdi’s knife out of his hand, on to the road. So that meant that now, only one of them had a knife – the defendant.”
The disarmed victim retreated and got back into the Porsche, pursued by the defendant, who reached him before he shut the car door, the court was told. Samad then stabbed Mr Abdi three times, including once in the chest, which went through the cartilage of the ribs and into the heart, the court heard.
As the defendant made off in the Seat Leon, Mr Abdi managed to drive forward into Bell Street where he died, despite efforts of members of the public and paramedics. In a victim impact statement read out in court, Mr Abdi’s mother, Sharon, and his sister, Amirah, described him as a “cherished son and a loving brother” and “a young man who had much to live for”.
Judge Tayton said: “They fear his life has been stolen.” El-Hazzaa was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment for attempting to pervert the course of justice.
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