
A teenager who became London's third murder victim in 24 hours last night cried out in pain as he lay dying from stab wounds outside his grandmother's house.

The 18-year-old man, named by police today as student Sami Sidhom, was pronounced dead at the scene in Forest Gate at 11.30pm after he was attacked by a gang who reportedly arrived in two cars.

Sami was a history and law undergraduate at Queen Mary University who lived with his grandmother and hoped to become a lawyer, friends said.

The teenager, who is said to have been born in the UK and was of Egyptian heritage, is the latest victim of spiraling violence in London and the 59th person killed in the capital this year.

The death toll from the surge in violence in London rose further last night with the death of an 18-year-old in Forest Gate

Police at yet another murder scene this morning after an 18-year-old man was killed in Forest Gate, east London last night

A friend said: 'He looked after and lived with his grandmother as his grandfather died. He was a good family boy. He was great at sport, used to be a good runner, he had great stamina.

'He had lots of friends and was well-liked. He never did anything illegal. He loved playing computer games with his mates. I can't believe this has happened, I'm totally shocked, he was never in any trouble.'

Police rushed to Forest Gate just after 10.50pm yesterday evening along with paramedics from the London Ambulance Service and the London's Air Ambulance.

Sami, who was a West Ham United season ticket holder, was fatally stabbed just an hour after seeing his beloved Hammers score a last minute equaliser against Stoke to draw 1-1 at the London Stadium on Monday night.

Another friend said after laying flowers outside his home: 'When I heard it I thought "no way, it can't be Sami, that's not the person I know".

'He was the cleverest guy you will ever meet. I can't think why anyone would do this. He was just a normal guy, he was small, about 5ft 3ins. He would never be a threat to anyone.

'If ever there was a conflict he would leave, he would never fight.'

Just a couple of months before he died, Sami bought a new Audi A4 car with the inheritance from his grandfather's death last year.

The friend added: 'He'd just seen West Ham score in the last minute - he should have been buzzing, not getting stabbed.

'I can only think it must have been jealously over his car. There's no other reason why anyone would do this. That's all I can think of because he was so quiet and just went to university.

'He was very low key and so modest he didn't like pictures and didn't have any social media.'

Screeching of car tyres was heard before shouting of the young man's pleas for help as he collapsed near his house.

He was knifed in the back after being ambushed by two cars carrying four men, according to shocked eyewitnesses.

Neighbours used towels to try and stem the bleeding, but Sami was pronounced dead at the scene.

The suburban street in the east of the capital became the latest to be taped off by detectives investigating an alleged murder

Neighbour Tariq Bhugeloo, 22, said of the victim: 'The only time I saw him go out was to get food for his gran. He lived there with her and his dad. He was small, he was an innocent boy. I can't think who would target him like that.

'He just got a new car, an Audi A4, he was always out there polishing it.

'We call him Mr Swot. He would come back from uni and start studying again, he never got in any trouble.

'But Newham is Newham. There's never any police patrolling unless something bad happens. Something needs to change.'

One neighbour heard the man 'wailing' and shouting 'help I've been stabbed'. Around 12 members of the public gathered around him to try and stem the flow of blood with towels.

Marketing worker, Said Bhugeloo, 29, said: 'I heard cars zoom off, tyres screeching, then a guy shouting, outside my window, he was wailing "help I've been stabbed".

'When I came out there were two young boys helping him. He had collapsed into a man's arms, he was an older gentleman with a pork pie hat. I rushed inside to get some towels to help them put pressure on the wounds.

'There were around 12 people around him. Then the police came and they tried to shock him with the pads. They told us to go back inside.

'I heard the two cars were coming down the road, he then stumbled across the road after being attacked on the other side of the street.

'We think he would have been trying to come home. Police last night were looking across the road at the trail of blood.

'We all hoped he would pull through, it's the last thing you want to see happen to anyone. It was really traumatic and horrific thing to see right outside your house.'

The area of the home was cordoned off and forensic detectives were called in to examine the scene (pictured, this morning)

Another neighbour said: 'I saw four guys with two cars. I shouted at them and then they got into the cars and raced off.

‘There was so much blood – in the street and down the back of his legs. It all happened so quickly. There were about a dozen of us in the street trying to save him, but there was nothing more we could do.'

A woman who lived next door said: 'I've known him all his life, since he was little. He was such a lovely boy, he never seemed like he was in any trouble.

'I saw him grow up, I just found out, were all devastated as he was almost home when he died.'

A police spokesman said: 'Officers attended the location along with London Ambulance Service and paramedics from London's Air Ambulance.

'The victim - believed to be an 18-year-old man - was pronounced dead at the scene at 23:27hrs. Officers are in the process of informing next of kin.

'Formal identification and a post-mortem examination will be arranged in due course.

'A police investigation has commenced, and cordons are in place at the scene. There has been no arrest at this early stage.

'Any witnesses, or anyone with information that may assist the investigation, are urged to call officers via 101 quoting CAD 8332/apr16.'

Police have erected a cordon closing of a wide area surrounding the scene in Chestnut Avenue, Forest Gate, east London

Police officers speak to forensic detectives at the scene of the death in Forest Gate, London

One Twitter user who said he was within the cordon claimed an officer told him there was 'blood all over the road'

Charge in stab case A woman has been charged with murder after a young father was stabbed to death in his flat. Simone Fergus, 34, was arrested at the scene on Sunday on suspicion of murder after father-of-one Raul Nicolaie, 26, was heard screaming during a brutal stabbing. The Romanian national, of Colindale, north London, who has a baby son, and was rushed to hospital with severe stab wounds to his shoulder at around 6pm on Sunday, but passed away. Fergus appeared at Willesden Magistrates Court today and was remanded in custody to appear at a later date. Advertisement

Yesterday a young father and a woman in her 30s died within half an hour of each other.

Raul Nicolaie, 26, has been named locally as the man stabbed to death in Colindale, north London at around 6pm yesterday.

Paramedics and air ambulance crews treated Mr Nicolaie before he was taken to hospital in central London but died later in the evening.

Friends told the Evening Standard the Romanian, who came to Britain around five years ago, leaves behind a six-month-old son, who he adored.

A woman in her 20s, who knew the victim, has been arrested on suspicion of murder.

In the second incident, a woman in her 30s was stabbed to death in Brixton, south London, shortly after 6.30pm.

The attack took place and the woman died inside the suspected killer's family home, according to shocked neighbours. The attack occurred on Sudbourne Grove, where houses sell up to £1,325,000.

Tragic death toll: The rising number of lives taken on the streets of London in 2018

JANUARY - 12 deaths, including one late on December 31

31 December, Kyall Parnell, 17: Stabbed to death in Lambeth

1 January, Steve Frank Narvaez-Arias, 20: Stabbed in the chest on New Year's Day at a flat party in a council estate off Old Street in Islington, north London. After moving to the UK from Ecuador, the 20-year-old was reading physics and aerospace at Hertfordshire University and hoped to become a pilot

3 January, Elizabeta Lacatusu, 44: Found bleeding to death on Norfolk Road, in Ilford, after she had her throat slashed. She worked at a restaurant in the east London town and was returning home when she was stabbed to death

6 January, Vijay Patel, 49: Mr Patel was beaten to death in Barnet

Yaya Mbye, 26, was stabbed in Hackney on January 28 (left). Right, Daniel Frederick, 34, was killed metres from his home in Hackney after attending a hospital appointment for his pregnant partner on January 8

8 January, Daniel Frederick, 34: Daniel was killed metres from his home in Hackney after attending a hospital appointment for his pregnant partner

9 January, Dami Odeyingbo, 18: Stabbed in Bromley

11 January, Harry Uzoka, 25: Harry, who was on the books of Premier Model Management and had modelled for brands including Mercedes and Zara - was stabbed in Shepherd's Bush. Neighbours reported a shout of 'hand it over' in the melee which involved several men

24 January, Seyed Azim Khan, age unknown: Died from a head injury in Redbridge

28 January, Yaya Mbye, 26: Stabbed in Hackney

Khader Saleh, 25, (left) was stabbed in the Hammersmith and Fulham area on January 31. Right, Dami Odeyingbo, 18, was stabbed in Bromley on January 9

29 January, Juan Olmos Saca, 39: Died six days after being found stabbed at an address in Peckham

31 January, Lily-Mai Saint George, one: One-year-old Lily-Mai was found dead in Haringey. The Met Police say her cause of death remains unknown

31 January, Khader Saleh, 25: The 25-year-old was stabbed in the Hammersmith and Fulham area

FEBRUARY - 14 deaths

3 February, Kwabena Nelson, 22: Ambushed in Tottenham in the early hours where he was fatally stabbed

3 February, Hasan Ozkan, 19: Stabbed to death in Abbey Road, Barking

5 February, Juan Olmos Saca: Died in hospital after being stabbed in Peckham

8 February, Hannah Leonard, 55: Fatally stabbed in Brays Tower, Primrose Hill

11 February, Sabri Chibani, 19: Stabbed in Streatham Common

12 February, Bulent Kabala, 41: The taxi driver was shot dead in a 'targeted hit' on a roundabout in Barnet

Elizabeta Lacatusu, 44, was found bleeding to death on Norfolk Road, in Ilford, after she had her throat slashed on January 3

13 February, Saeeda Hussain, 54: Found with critical injuries at an address in Ilford and pronounced dead at the scene

14 February, Promise Nkenda, 17: Fatally stabbed in Newham, east London

15 February, Mark Smith, 48: Mr Smith was found injured in Chingford, and died shortly afterwards

17 February, Lewis Blackman, 19: Lewis, who grew up on the Peckwater estate in Kentish Town, was killed in Kensington. Witnesses told how a gang of about eight youths, some armed with sticks, shouted 'let's chase him down', before he was stabbed

17 February, Josef Boci, 30: Jozef was beaten up in the street in Greenwich and died in hospital

19 February, Rotimi Oshibanjo, 26: Rotimi was fatally stabbed inside a property in the Halliday Square housing estate

Hannah Leonard, who was 55, was found dead on February 9 in a flat in Camden, North London

20 February, Sadiq Mohamed, 20: The aspiring accountant was found with serious stab wounds in Malden Road, in Belsize Park

20 February, Abdikarim Hassan, 17: Abdikarim died in the street after being attacked in Camden

20 February, name unknown, 24: Shot in Westminster

25 February, Michael Boyle, 44: Stabbed in Southwark. Mr Boyle, from Galashiels, Scotland died of multiple organ failure after being stabbed at a property in Southwark. He was found on February 25 but died on March 10

MARCH - 23 deaths

1 March, Christopher Beaumont, 42: Stabbed in Hammersmith and Fulham

5 March, Kelva Smith, 20: Found stabbed in South Norwood, Croydon and pronounced dead at the scene

5 March, Laura Cecilia Navarrete De Figueira, 47: Police launched a murder investigation after Laura Cecilia Navarrete De Figueira was found with stab wounds at her home in Twickenham. An hour earlier the body of her husband Figueira de Faria and the bodies of Claudio, 10, and Joaquin, seven, were discovered on the beach at Birling Gap, in Eastbourne, East Sussex

8 March, Kelvin Odunuyi, 19: Shot in Haringey

Balbir Johal, 48: Died after being stabbed in Southall on March 19

12 March, Julian Joseph, 36: Murdered in Lewisham, cause of death as yet unknown

13 March, Nikolay Glushkov, 68: Russian businessman was found dead in his home in New Malden. He died from compression to the neck

14 March, Lyndon Davis, 18: The youngest to have been killed in March, was found suffering from a single stab wound in Chadwell Heath, east London

14 March, Joseph Williams-Torres, 20: Killed as he sat in a stationary car in Essex Close, Walthamstow

16 March, Naomi Hersi, 36: Stabbed in Hounslow. Hersi, who lived as a trans woman called Naomi, was pronounced dead at the scene after being found with knife injuries in Hounslow

17 March, Russell Jones, 23: Ambushed outside shops near Ponders End station, in Enfield and stabbed and shot to death

18 March, Tyrone Silcott, 42: The father-of-two died from knife wounds after a St Patrick's Day party. It is alleged the car mechanic got into a row over two girls at a party in Homerton and was attacked

19 March, Balbir Johal, 48: Died after being stabbed in Southall

Hersi Hersi (left), who lived as a trans woman called Naomi, was pronounced dead at the scene after being found with knife injuries at Heathrow Palace in Hounslow. Russell Jones, 23, became the eighth person in a week to be killed in London when he was ambushed outside shops near Ponders End station, Enfield Read

19 March, Jermaine Johnson, 41: Found with stab injuries and pronounced dead at the scene in Walthamstow

20 March, Beniamin Pieknyi, 20: Believed to have jumped in to the fight in a bid to save his friend during the altercation at the Stratford Centre in east London. The 20-year-old, who only arrived in Britain two months ago from Romania, died in his best friend's arms after being chased and stabbed by a gang in the busy shopping centre

25 March, Abraham Badru, 26: Gunned down in Hackney. The university graduate, who was murdered in Dalston, east London, was awarded the National Police Bravery Award in July 2009

25 March, awaiting formal ID, 59: Person found dead in Barking & Dagenham

26 March, David Potter, 50: Found stabbed to death in a property on Tooting High Street

29 March, Reece Tshoma, 23: Reece, from Barking in east London, was stabbed in the neck in Greenwich before being rushed to hospital by his friend where he died

30 March, Leyla Mtumwa, 36: Leyla was found dead with stab wounds to the neck and chest at an address in Haringey

Amaan Shakoor, 16, was shot in the face in Walthamstow and died a day later in hospital

APRIL - Nine deaths

1 April, Devoy Stapleton: Stabbed at as he made his way home from a night out in Wandsworth. Police found him in a pool of his own blood after being called to the middle-class suburb of Earlsfield, south west London

2 April, Tanesha Melbourne, 17: Tanesha was gunned down near her home in Tottenham, north London in front of horrified friends and family. It is thought she was caught in the crossfire of a ruthless gang war

2 April, Amaan Shakoor, 16: The teenager was shot in the face in Walthamstow, north London, and police have now confirmed he died from his injuries in hospital

4 April, Henry Vincent, 37: Burglary who died from stab wound after raiding pensioner's house

4 April, Babatunde Akintayo Awofeso dies after row on Upper Clapton Road, east London.

Israel Ogunsola, 18, died in Hackney after being stabbed on April 4

4 April, Israel Ogunsola, 18, dies in Hackney after being stabbed. The victim approached police who performed first aid but he died at the scene after 25 minutes.

12 April, John Maclean, 35, stabbed at a flat in the Isle of Dogs. A 25-year-old has been charged with his murder.

15 April, Raul Nicolaie, 26: Found at with stab injuries in Colindale, north London. A 34- year-old woman was arrested at the scene on suspicion of murder

15 April, an unnamed woman in her 30s was stabbed to death in Sudbourne Road, Brixton, south London. A man in his 20s has been arrested on suspicion of murder.

16 April - A teenager is stabbed to death in the street in Forest Gate.