A murder suspect on the run after a mother was stabbed to death in front of her child is a wannabe Primark vlogger and self-described ‘adventure lover’ who warns ‘toxic people’ to ‘stay away’.
Habibur Masum, who lives in Oldham and known to the victim, is still at large and members of the public are being urged ‘not to approach’ him but ‘call 999 immediately’.
The married 25-year-old father is wanted over a shocking daylight attack in Bradford on Saturday which saw the 27-year-old victim ambushed while pushing her five-month-old son in a buggy during a shopping trip.
Horrific CCTV from a nearby food store shows the knifeman plunging his weapon into the victim’s neck
Masum, who is from the city of Sylhet in eastern Bangladesh, is studying for a masters in digital marketing at the University of Bedfordshire – according to his LinkedIn profile.
He shares travel vlogs of his ‘adventures’ and life in the UK to his 14 YouTube subscribers.
One post shows him admiring the wide range of Bangladeshi made clothes in Primark before trying on a range of winter jumpers. He then films a children’s offer and leaves with two full bags.
Habibur Masum is a wannabe blogger who previously posted videos of shopping hauls in Primark
Online, Masum presents an image of himself as an enthusiastic traveller who enjoys discovering new cultures
One video shows him admiring the wide range of of Bangladeshi made clothes in Primark before filming a children’s offer and leaving with two full bags
In another video from January, Masum is seen filming himself walking through a housing estate as snow falls down. He warns his followers who are new to the UK not too ‘stay out in the cold too long’ as they could get chest problems.
He has also shared clips to his 4,300 followers on Facebook telling them how to prepare a hospital bag for ‘your newborn baby’. Another showed him setting up a child’s cot.
Online, Masum presents an image of himself as an enthusiastic traveller who enjoys discovering new cultures.
On his LinkedIn he describes himself as an ‘adventure lover’ and warns ‘toxic people to stay away’ from him.
A source, who described himself as a friend of Masum’s, told MailOnline that he had come to the UK from Bangladesh two years ago to study.
He said the suspect was married, had been living in Oldham and had wanted to go travelling across Europe.
Just days ago the suspected attacker had shared a video on his YouTube channel, vlogging his trip from Manchester to Barcelona.
The wannabe influencer captured his trip from the moment he boarded the Ryanair flight to landing in the Spanish city, before encouraging his 14 subscribers to continue following for more upcoming videos.
Masum’s friend, who works at the visa company that helped him get a Schengen visa to travel countries in Europe, said last night that he was ‘completely shocked’ by the news.
A source, who described himself as a friend of Masum’s, told MailOnline that he had come to the UK from Bangladesh two years ago to study
One video shared to his 14 subscribers on YouTube showed him trying on different jumpers in Primark
Masum 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
Another video on Masum’s YouTube channel showed snow falling in the UK as he warned people to not stay out in the cold for long
He told MailOnline: ‘I know him as a friend. I am shocked, really shocked about it. I am surprised, he’s a nice and good person. I can’t believe the situation. He had been in the UK for nearly two years, he is studying.
‘I know he’s married. Two months ago he was living in Oldham, Manchester, but which area I do not know. He’s a student so he wanted to go travelling and I helped him get a visa as he wanted to visit Europe.
‘I know him from seeing him in local places, playing football and cricket, so I know him from that. Then he told me he wanted to go visit Europe and said he wanted to apply for a visa.
‘He is a nice person from my knowledge but I have not heard from him since about two months ago. I am really shocked about this.’
In January, Samin’s UK Visas Support Centre shared a photo of Masum’s Schengen visa as a success story.
A photo of the suspect’s visa to Portugal read: ‘Happy to help you. Schengen Visa from UK. Good idea, better application visa.’
Police named Masum yesterday and urged the public to contact them with any sightings of him.
Officers were called to the Westgate area of Bradford at 3.21pm on Saturday after reports of a woman being stabbed by a man who then fled, and she later died in hospital.
According to eyewitnesses, the woman was stabbed ‘four to five times’ in the neck while shopping with a friend. The baby was not harmed.
Masum, 25, is being hunted by police who are appealing for members of the public to report any sightings of him
It is understood Masum is a master’s student at the University of Bedfordshire studying Digital Marketing
In January, Samin’s UK Visas Support Centre shared a photo of Masum’s Schengen visa as a success story
Geo Khan, 69, who runs a fruit a veg shop in Bradford, 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 driving by 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.
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.’
A knife was recovered from the scene of the incident.
Police described Masum as an Asian man, of slim build.
He was pictured on CCTV wearing a duffle coat with three large horizontal lines of grey, white and black, light blue or grey tracksuit bottoms with a small black emblem on the left pocket and maroon trainers.
A murder investigation has been launched after a woman was stabbed to death in Bradford on Saturday
A police cordon put in place around the scene in Westgate, Bradford
A witness also reported seeing him wearing a grey hoodie with the hood up. He is believed to have links to the Burnley and Chester areas.
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 3.20pm 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.’
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.
- Any current sightings of Masum should be reported to West Yorkshire Police via 999. Any other information that could assist the investigation should be reported via Live Chat online or by calling 101, quoting log 1071 of April 6.
