On a quiet afternoon in Derby, a senseless act of violence shattered the lives of a family and sent ripples of shock through a community already grappling with questions about migration, mental health, and public safety. On May 6, 2025, Gurvinder Singh Johal, a 37-year-old father of three and well-known local restaurant owner, was stabbed to death inside a Lloyds Bank branch on St Peter's Street. His killer, Haybe Cabdiraxmaan Nur, a 47-year-old asylum seeker from Somalia, had only recently arrived in the UK after a years-long journey across Europe. The killing, which lasted less than half a minute, was caught on CCTV and witnessed by several unsuspecting members of the public.
According to BBC, the attack occurred just after 14:30 BST. Johal, known to friends as "Danny," was standing in the queue, video-calling a friend and handling holiday takings from his Hen and Chickens Bar and Grill in Shelton Lock. Without warning, Nur approached, pulled a kitchen knife from his waistband, and stabbed Johal through the heart. The blade snapped during the assault, remaining lodged in Johal's chest. Witnesses described a moment of confusion, as the attack was so swift and unexpected that no one realized what had happened until after the fact. One witness heard Johal, in his final moments, ask his killer, "why?"—a question that has haunted his family and the wider community ever since, as reported by Metro.
After the stabbing, Nur calmly turned and walked out of the bank, exiting into the Derbion shopping centre and then making his way home. He arrived at his residence just before 3pm, mere minutes after the attack. Despite desperate efforts by bank staff and emergency responders, Johal was pronounced dead at the scene at 15:16. Members of the public who tried to help Johal in those critical moments were later recognized with £750 High Sheriff’s Awards for their bravery.
The events leading up to the killing paint a troubling picture. Nur, who had fled Somalia in 2016 after witnessing his wife’s murder in an honour killing, spent years moving through Italy, France, Germany, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands. During his time in Europe, he accumulated a series of minor criminal records, including robbery, theft, and public disorder—often while intoxicated. He arrived in the UK in October 2024, having paid €400 (£352) to a smuggler for the dangerous small boat crossing, as detailed by BBC and ITV News.
Once in the UK, Nur claimed asylum, but his application was rejected by the Home Office in January 2025 on the grounds that he had arrived "voluntarily." He appealed the decision, and at the time of the murder, his case was still under review. In the months leading up to the killing, Nur had no prior convictions in the UK but was involved in several incidents in Derby, including an arrest in December 2024 following an altercation, and an incident in April where he smashed a shop window.
On the day of the murder, Nur had consumed three bottles of vodka and ten beers. He made a series of increasingly agitated phone calls to the charity Migrant Help, alternating between threats of self-harm and harm to others. In one call, he chillingly claimed he was "going to kill 500 people" and suggested he might target "doctors, police or people working at the Home Office." The charity, alarmed by his threats, contacted the East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS), expressing concerns for his mental state and the possibility he might harm himself or others. According to BBC, EMAS contacted police, but it was decided that the ambulance service would be the appropriate agency to respond. Paramedics arrived at Nur’s home just after the murder had taken place, but by then, it was too late to prevent the tragedy.
The aftermath of the killing was swift and somber. Police tracked Nur to his home, where he was found asleep on his bedroom floor and arrested a few hours later. In custody, he became abusive and, speaking in Somali, reportedly said, "What can they take from me... what can you change about me... you cannot change anything about me... you can kill me as normal... I did this intentionally." Nur pleaded guilty to murder at Derby Crown Court in August 2025 and was sentenced on October 29, 2025, to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 25 years.
Judge Shaun Smith KC, in sentencing, described the murder as a "brutal and callous act" and a "real-life horror film for everyone connected to Mr Johal and everyone who had the misfortune of witnessing your wicked act." He noted the public nature of the crime, committed in broad daylight in front of bystanders, and the devastating impact on Johal’s family and the wider community. "You randomly selected Mr Johal and plunged a knife into his chest, a man you had never met before. It was a very public killing," the judge said, as quoted by Metro.
Johal’s family, in a statement read to the court by prosecutor Louis Mably KC, expressed their profound grief and anger. "To us and to God, he was simply a good man, our Gurvinder, our light. This didn't just change our lives, they have been shattered... we are suffocated by a silence so loud it hurts. This is a life sentence of grief... [in Nur], we see nothing more than a coward and a demon. The person will never understand the pain and destruction they have caused - they are nothing. The light in our family has been extinguished... the deepest wound is the impact on the children, they had their innocence stolen." Johal’s children, the statement added, have said "a monster took daddy away." The family urged that Nur serve his sentence in the UK rather than being deported.
Questions have since swirled about how such a tragedy could have happened. According to BBC, Derbyshire Police only learned of Nur’s European criminal records after the killing. There are ongoing investigations by the Independent Office for Police Conduct to determine whether the response by police and ambulance services to the warnings from Migrant Help was adequate. Social affairs correspondent Jeremy Ball observed that the case has intensified debates around the asylum system, public safety, and mental health support for vulnerable migrants. "Who’s coming here? Where are they housed? How are they monitored?" Ball asked, highlighting the broader issues now under scrutiny.
James Horne KC, representing Nur, acknowledged the tragedy of Johal’s death and cited Nur’s complex post-traumatic stress disorder, reportedly stemming from his experiences in Somalia. Despite this, psychiatric assessments found Nur had capacity and he consistently denied having any recollection of the killing, according to Metro.
Sam Shallow, of the Crown Prosecution Service, summed up the community’s sense of loss: "Gurvinder Johal's sudden death as he went about his everyday business left a family in mourning and a community in shock. Mr Johal was a complete stranger to the defendant and there was no reason for him to have been targeted in this way."
As Derby continues to mourn, the case stands as a stark reminder of the unpredictable intersections of migration, trauma, and public safety, and the profound consequences when support systems falter at the most critical moments.
