A manhunt has been launched for a 25-year-old after a woman was stabbed to death in front of horrified shoppers in the centre of Bradford as she pushed a baby in a pram.
The 27-year-old woman, who has been named as Kulsama Akter, was attacked as she walked through the Westgate area of the city with her child on Saturday afternoon.
West Yorkshire Police said they urgently need to speak to Habibur Masum, 25, who they said was from Oldham in Greater Manchester but also has connections to Burnley and Chester.
They said Mr. Masum was “known to the woman” but would not confirm if they had been in a relationship.
‘Blood Was All Over on the Floor’
Shopkeeper Geo Khan said: “I was sitting in my shop and heard screaming. I came out and I tried to check the pulse. There was no pulse.”“Blood was all over on the floor and there were stab wounds in her neck,” he added.
Mr. Khan said a passing doctor stopped to help but the shopkeeper added, “Him and me and another guy tried to rescue her, but she was already gone.”
The baby was unharmed.
West Yorkshire Police said Mr. Masum is an Asian man of slim build, who was last seen wearing a duffle coat with three large horizontal lines of grey, white, and black.
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,” she added.
Ms. Atkinson said, “If anyone has any information about his movements or whereabouts since 3.20 p.m. 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,” she added.
Echoes of Alkaline Attacker Manhunt
The case has echoes of that of Abdul Ezedi, an Afghan immigrant who attacked a former partner and a child with an alkaline substance in London in January.Police launched a manhunt after Ezedi attacked his ex-girlfriend and her children, aged 3 and 8, with an alkaline substance in Clapham, south London.
Ezedi lived in Newcastle-upon-Tyne for some time but on Jan. 31 he came to London and attacked the woman and child before going on the run.
An extensive manhunt was launched by the Metropolitan Police, which issued an image of Ezedi with scars to his own face, believed to have been caused during the alkaline attack.
Detectives spent hours trawling through CCTV footage and eventually concluded Ezedi had jumped or fallen into the River Thames near Chelsea Bridge a few hours after the attack.
On Feb. 19 the Met’s Marine Policing Unit found Ezedi’s body in the river.
In a message to church leaders at Easter, the Home Secretary James Cleverly warned them of the danger of vouching for Christian converts.
