Tributes were today paid to a man who was stabbed to death as he tried to break up a fight near his south London home.
Mohammed Hassan, 35, known to his friends as Bashir, was knifed in the heart in the car park below his block of flats on the Winstanley estate in Battersea, before he stumbled up two flights of stairs and died in his flat.
Friends said the removal man, who was originally from Egypt, had been a “peacemaker” trying to stop a fight when he was attacked.
Two other men, aged 32 and 35, were also stabbed in the incident at about 6pm last Wednesday.
One flagged down a passing ambulance and the other took himself to hospital. Both have since been discharged. Police have opened a murder inquiry but no arrests have yet been made.
Mr Hassan’s flatmate told the Standard: “Bashir was like a brother to me. He was a good guy with a good heart who always just tried to help people. It has come as a huge shock. He had a lot of friends on the estate. I have been told he was just stepping in to break up a fight. It’s tragic and we are all upset. He had no family in the UK. I spoke to his cousin in Canada, and his family are devastated.”
Mr Hassan had lived in Britain for about 16 years after arriving alone in his teens. He learned English at South Thames College and then ran his own “man and a van” removals business, sending money back to Egypt to help support his mother.
Another friend said: “He was just a lovely kind man who would always say hello. We can’t understand why anyone would want to hurt him.
“He was just trying to help, that’s the kind of person he was.”
A post-mortem examination confirmed the cause of of death as a stab wound to the heart. The investigation into Mr Hassan’s killing is being led by Detective Chief Inspector Diane Tudway of the Met’s Homicide and Major Crime Command.
Police are asking anyone with information to call them on 020 8721 4205 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
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