A murder investigation is underway after a man was stabbed to death in a café in Kilburn yesterday evening.
The 48-year-old victim was knifed in Efes Café in Kilburn High Road at around 7pm and rushed to hospital where he died at 8.15pm.
Police arrested a 21-year-old man at the scene and he is currently in custody.
The victim has not been formally identified but according to locals he is Huseyin Gulbudak, the owner of the café called.
A witness who asked not to be named, told the Times: “I was talking to my friend outside the coffee shop telling him to come to my house but then I hear a man sitting inside shouting and crying.
“I tried to help him but when I saw the big knife I was scared and straight away called the police.
“The guy with the knife was stabbing him again and again, plunging it in like an animal, then he told people to get out and then pulled the shutter down and carried on. “I’m sure he came just to kill, no other reason. One old guy tried to help him but the guy was mad, I’ve never seen anything like it in my life.”
Brian Mannion, landlord of the Black Lion pub which is yards away from the cafe, told the Times the victim was a hard worker.
He said: “The two of us have been on this road for so long, we’d talk about the changes in the area, that sort of thing. He was a hard worker, in from seven in the morning to eight at night every day, constantly working barely taking days off.
“I go over there every day, have a cup of tea and a chat with him.
“I’m very shocked, he was a hard worker, a gentleman. It’s certainly a tragedy.”
Tulip Siddiq, Labour MP for Hampstead and Kilburn, tweeted about the incident this morning saying she was liaising with the police.
Halim Galem, a barber in Kilburn High Road, told the Times: “He’s my customer.
“This is very very sad, the guy is a very, very good man. I can see no reason for killing someone like him.”
Anyone with information should call police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
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