Tashan Daniel: Tube murder victim's father saw son die By Thomas Mackintosh and Helen Drew

BBC News Published duration 30 September 2019 Related Topics Knife crime

media caption Tashan Daniel's family saw him die after Tube stabbing

An Olympic hopeful who was fatally stabbed on the London Underground had kissed his dad goodbye just minutes earlier.

Athlete Tashan Daniel, 20, was killed shortly after he left home for the Emirates stadium on Tuesday.

His father, Chandy, said he arrived at Hillingdon Tube station to find paramedics fighting to save his son.

Police investigating the "senseless attack" found a knife near the scene but no arrests have been made.

Mr Daniel said Tashan had been making his first solo trip to the Emirates stadium to watch Arsenal play Nottingham Forest.

'Held his hand'

The 48-year-old said he ran to the station as it was being evacuated.

"I was hoping it was mistaken identity - there was no way it was going to be Tashan," he said.

"I could see as I was running down the stairs he was being worked on, on the platform floor.

"The air ambulance were telling me they had done everything they could and his heart had stopped for 20 minutes. It was all a blur."

Celia Daniel, 48, said she was able to "hold his hand for a tiny second" while paramedics worked on her son.

Tashan had bought a ticket to watch Arsenal play Nottingham Forest "as a birthday present to himself" after turning 20 on 22 September.

image caption Tashan Daniel's family described their last moments with him

Before leaving for the match, he had lunch with his mum and took his grandfather to a day care centre for a taster session.

His father said: "He swapped an appointment around because he knew how important it was to the family. He put his Arsenal shirt on, I was doing something on the computer and he was helping me.

"He was short on time - he ruffled my hair, gave me a kiss on the cheek and that's the last time he left home."

image copyright Anne Robinson/Twitter/PA Wire image caption Tashan was stabbed at Hillingdon Underground station, prompting a large response from emergency services

Numerous tributes have been paid to Tashan, who was a full-time athlete, including those from Arsenal and Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

His running coach at Hillingdon Athletic Club described him as "the perfect kid" who "always went the extra mile for his team and community".

"Tashan wanted to make the Olympics," his father said. "He set his standards high, he was hardworking and did everything we asked him to.

"The glowing references just fill my heart with joy and we never realised how much of a joker he was. He was a real family-orientated boy and he was a beautiful soul."

British Transport Police is leading the investigation and appealing for witnesses to the attack at about 16:00 BST to get in touch.

Det Ch Insp Sam Blackburn said two suspects left Hillingdon station in the direction of Auriol Drive and that a knife was recovered nearby.