Man jailed for murder over 'Wild West' knife fight

Awad Abdel Samad claimed he had acted in self-defence

A man who stabbed a Porsche driver to death in scenes likened to the "Wild West" has been handed a life sentence with a minimum term of 27 years in jail.

Awad Abdel Samad, 24, had claimed he acted in self-defence when he killed Mohamed Abdi, 19, during an outbreak of violence in central London's bustling Edgware Road on the evening of 4 June 2024.

Samad, in fact, believed Mr Abdi had been involved in the kidnapping and torture of a friend two days prior and took the chance to exact revenge, a judge told the Old Bailey on Thursday.

During sentencing, Judge Lynn Tayton said: "You acted with extreme aggression and persistence in attacking Mr Abdi."

He added: "I am satisfied this was a revenge attack and you acted as part of a group.

"It took place on a congested street where there were many people in vehicles and on foot.

"You can see how terrifying this was to members of the public."

On 2 June, the defendant's friend Soufian Chafi was kidnapped and tortured, with footage of the attack posted on social media showing him "naked and humiliated," the judge told the court.

Though there was no evidence Mr Abdi was involved, Samad and his co-defendant Mohamad Mahmoud El-Hazzaa, 27, from Westminster, both believed that he was.

Mohamed Abdi was killed in central London in June 2024

The incident on 4 June involved the occupants of two cars who knew each other and were heading in the same direction in heavy traffic.

Samad was in the front passenger seat of a Seat Leon, which was being driven by El-Hazzaa, the court heard.

The victim, Mr Abdi, was driving a Porsche Cayenne, which he pulled close up behind the defendants' car, flashing his lights.

Both cars stopped and Samad got out of the vehicle with a knife.

Prosecutor Bill Emlyn Jones KC previously told jurors: "It is, you might have thought, like something from the Wild West.

Awad Abdel Samad was jailed for life at the Old Bailey on Thursday

"Mohamed Abdi clearly saw him coming and got out. The two of them then started to fight - Mohamed Abdi was also armed with a knife.

"But within a few seconds of the start of their fighting, the defendant gained a crucial advantage.

"He swung a kick and managed to kick Mohamed Abdi's knife out of his hand, on to the road. So that meant that now, only one of them had a knife - the defendant."

The disarmed victim tried to get back into his Porsche and was chased by the defendant, who reached him before he shut the car door.

'Much to live for'

Samad then stabbed Mr Abdi three times, including once in the chest, which went through the cartilage of the ribs and into the heart, the court heard.

As the defendant made off in the Seat Leon, Mr Abdi managed to drive forward into Bell Street where he died, despite help from passers-by and paramedics.

In a victim impact statement read out in court, Mr Abdi's mother, Sharon, and his sister, Amirah, described him as a "cherished son and a loving brother" and "a young man who had much to live for".

Judge Tayton said: "They fear his life has been stolen."

El-Hazzaa was sentenced to three years' imprisonment for attempting to pervert the course of justice.