Armed police have raided two houses during their hunt for a Bangladeshi student ‘influencer’ wanted over the murder of a mother who was stabbed to death beside her baby.
Habibur Masum, who lives in Oldham and is known to the victim, remains 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.
Officers were seen storming a housing association property an hour’s drive away in Burnley as part of their hunt for Masum at around noon yesterday, with officers seen leading away a man and a woman.
One neighbour said: ‘The riot vans pulled up and armed police jumped out. They were everywhere. A little while afterwards, a lady and an elderly gentleman were taken out of the house by police.’
Forensic officers arrived at the property in the early hours of this morning and have been seen searching the house and garden before taking away evidence in plastic bags. They also used cameras to look inside the gutters.
At the same time as the first raid, police then entered a semi-detached home in Burley after discovering Masum had links to the family living there. A witness said: ‘Armed police went in first. There were a lot of police here. ‘I don’t think they found anything or anyone.’
Officers were seen storming a housing association property in Burnley yesterday and are seen today carrying out a thorough search of the garden
Forensic officers arrived at the first property in the early hours of this morning and have been seen searching the house and garden before taking away evidence in plastic bags (pictured is the front of the house)
Habibur Masum is a wannabe blogger who previously posted videos of shopping hauls in Primark
Horrific CCTV from Saturday’s attack shows the knifeman plunging his weapon into the victim’s neck. Days before, Masum had shared a clip in which two characters described how a man had ‘lost’ his bride during a walk.
Masum, who is from the city of Sylhet in eastern Bangladesh, studied for a masters in digital marketing at the University of Bedfordshire, and photos have emerged showing him giving a peace sign at his graduation and dancing at an event last year.
The suspect appears to have been trying to carve out a career as an influencer, sharing 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 display showing children’s clothes on offer and leaves 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 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.
Masum, who is from the city of Sylhet in eastern Bangladesh, studied for a masters in digital marketing at the University of Bedfordshire, and videos show him celebrating at his graduation
The student was filmed dancing at an event in a TikTok video shared last year
Online, Masum presents an image of himself as an enthusiastic traveller who enjoys discovering new cultures
Days before the woman was murdered, Masum shared a clip in which two characters described how a man had ‘lost’ his bride during a walk
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
A source, who described himself as a friend of Masum’s, told 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 giving a peace sign as he celebrates his graduation from the University of Bedfordshire
He told : ‘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.
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
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.
Geo Khan, 69, who runs a fruit a veg shop in Bradford, tried to resuscitate the woman, who was one of his customers.
Mr Khan said he was sitting in his store on Saturday afternoon when he was alerted by screams on the other side of Westgate, in central Bradford.
He said he rushed over to the woman, who was with a friend outside a convenience store on Wigan Street, and was joined by a doctor as others called the ambulance.
‘I was sitting in my shop and heard screaming,’ Mr Khan said today. I came out and I tried to check the pulse. There was no pulse.’
He said: ‘Blood was all over on the floor and there were stab wounds in her neck.’
Mr Khan said he was joined by the passing doctor who took over trying to help the woman, but agreed there was no pulse.
‘Him and me and another guy tried to rescue her, but she was already gone,’ Mr Khan said. ‘I don’t think she was there any more.’
He said: ‘Whatever happened, it’s a very sad thing.’
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
Mr Khan said the woman who died came into his shop the day before the incident, and he believes she only came to the area a few weeks ago.
He said the baby is about four or five months old. Mr Khan said he believes the woman is from Bangladesh.
He said: ‘She was a very, very innocent person – the smile on her face.’
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.
There was no sign of any police activity in the area this morning but one bunch of flowers had been laid close to where the attack happened.
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.
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
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.