A murder investigation and a manhunt are underway in the United Kingdom after a woman, 27, was stabbed to death in Bradford City centre.
The horrific daylight killing took place in Westgate, at the junction with Drewton Road at 3.21pm on Saturday.
A man, later identified as Habibur Masum, 25, reportedly knifed the woman five times, leaving her with ‘significant injuries’, before he fled.
The woman was taken to hospital where she later died, West Yorkshire Police said.
Habibur Masum, 25, from the Oldham area, is being hunted by police who are appealing for members of the public to report any sightings of him.
According to eyewitnesses, the woman was stabbed ‘four to five times’ in the neck while shopping with a friend.
The mother is understood to have been pushing her baby son in his pram at the time of the fatal attack.
Masum, described as an Asian man of slim build, is pictured on CCTV wearing a duffle coat with three large horizontal lines of grey, white and black, as well as light grey tracksuit bottoms and maroon trainers.
A witness also reported seeing him wearing a grey hoody with the hood up. He is believed to have links to the Burnley and Chester areas.
Police today continued to search for the knifeman, who ran away following the attack, leaving the woman, who is of Pakistani descent, dying on the pavement
She was outside a convenience store, waiting for her friend who had gone to buy goods inside when she was set upon.
Geo Khan, 69, who runs a fruit and veg shop, tried to resuscitate the woman, who was one of his customers.
He said: ‘I was working on Saturday and I heard screams and ran out of my shop.
‘I saw that the lady was lying face down on the pavement next to a pushchair with her five-month-old baby inside.
‘I turned her over. There was a lot of blood and I checked for a pulse, but couldn’t find one.
‘I could see the knife wounds to her neck and I tried to do CPR.
‘Her friend was screaming.’
Mr Khan said a doctor who was passing in a car stopped to help. ‘He picked up a pulse and I went to get a sheet to put over her until the ambulance came,’ he added.
The murder took place outside the Westgate International Food store, at the junction of Westgate and Drewton Road, at 3:21pm yesterday (Saturday).
Detective Chief Inspector Stacey Atkinson, of West Yorkshire Police’s Homicide and Enquiry Team, said: ‘We have had significant resources following up a number of lines of enquiry to locate Habibur Masum but at this time his whereabouts are unknown.
‘A knife was recovered from the scene of the murder, but we cannot say if Habibur Masum is armed, and I would urge anyone who does see him not to approach him but to call 999 immediately.
‘If anyone has any information about his movements or whereabouts since 3:20 pm on Saturday please contact police as a matter of urgency.
‘We understand that the murder of a young woman in such shocking circumstances has caused considerable concern in the local community.
‘Residents can expect to continue to see a significant police presence in Bradford as we make further enquiries and conduct reassurance patrols in the area.’
Today forensic officers, dressed in white suits, continued to gather evidence from the scene and a large police cordon remained in place.
Adhi Aziz, 41, owner of Venice Barber Shop, said the woman was from Oldham, Greater Manchester, and had been ‘tracked down’ by her attacker, who is thought to be known to the victim.
‘We were really busy on Saturday and didn’t see anything until all the police started to turn up,’ Mr Aziz said.
‘The lady was attacked outside the Westgate corner shop and the man that stabbed her has run off down the road.
‘My wife told me the woman was pushing a pram with a baby inside when she was stabbed, and that she came from Oldham and the man has tracked her down.’
Police officers were also combing car parks, bushes and waste ground near the Harp of Erin pub, on Chain Street, in case the killer dumped the murder weapon as he escaped on foot.
Detective Chief Inspector Stacey Atkinson, of West Yorkshire Police’s Homicide and Major Enquiry Team, described the stabbing as a ‘shocking incident that has happened in broad daylight.’
She said that part of the city was busy at the time and the attack was ‘witnessed by a number of people.’
DCI Atkinson said: ‘A young woman has lost her life in the most awful circumstances, and we have extensive enquiries ongoing to locate and arrest the man responsible.
‘We understand that this incident will understandably cause concern in the local community, and I would like to reassure the wider public that we are working tirelessly to investigate this horrendous crime and bring the person responsible to justice.’
She urged anyone with dashcam footage to get in touch.
In a joint statement, Bradford City ward councillors, Aneela Ahmed, Nazam Azam and Shakeela Lal, said: ‘We are deeply shocked and saddened by yesterday’s incident. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of the deceased.
‘We would urge anyone who has any information relating to the incident, to contact the police.’
Bradford West MP Naz Shah, whose constituency covers the city centre, described the incident as ‘really shocking’.
She sent her condolences to the woman’s loved ones and also urged anyone with any information to get in touch with officers.
