Mohamed Abdi-Noor

TRIBUTES to a man who was fatally stabbed have been flooding in as friends and community remembered a kind, clever, and funny person.

Mohamed Abdi-Noor, 21, died on December 11 following an incident in Tufnell Park Road.

A 17 year-old boy has been charged with his murder.

Dozens of bunches of flowers, photos, and tributes to Mr Abdi-Noor have since been left at the scene.

Known as Blanco to his friends, Mr Abdi-Noor was an avid cyclist who had won competitions for his talent. He was part of a bike group called the Fixed Pirates Crew that cycles around London.

Jake Watt, a close friend from Fixed Pirates Crew, spoke to the Tribune on behalf of the whole group, who he says are all grieving and want to offer the same condolences and solidarity to Mr Abdi-Noor’s family.

“Two years ago, Blanco started coming around [to the group]. He sat on the fringes for a little bit and then got closer, and I formed a really, really good friendship with him – he’d always pop up somewhere on whatever bike and you’d have such a good time with him.

“He was an all-rounder, he was a great rider, with fast responses, and he was powerful, he could wheelie for days, ride backwards for days, he just flowed with it and enjoyed it,” said Mr Watt.

He says that Blanco will be remembered as a funny, kind, and warm man who was quick to make other people laugh.

“His sense of humour is like nothing I’ve ever come across – he’s so funny, so quick.

The Fixed Pirates Crew’s tribute

“He’s so clever, and he knew a lot about life, he’d had a lot of experiences, and some of the stuff he’d come out with was so funny. He had such a big heart, he would talk to everyone and was good to everyone.

“No one has a bad word to say about him. That’s why it’s hurt our community so much – he was one of the last people you’d ever expect this to happen to, and he’d never do what was done to him to someone else,” said Mr Watt.

He added: “We’re all susceptible to accidents – if he was hurt while out riding you could accept that, you could understand it a bit more, but because it was someone else that did it and had that say over his life, that’s what sits so badly, it was their decision, it wasn’t an accident.

“I was with him on the Sunday before it happened, and he was trying to take me and my friend for food, but I had to go home to my wife and I had work the next day. So, I left but my friend had dinner with him, and they went on to have a great night.

“If I had gone for food would that have changed anything at all? It would have been an amazing opportunity to hang out with him one last time.”

Hundreds of people turned out for Mr Abdi-Noor’s funeral last month, and the council organised buses to transport friends, family, and community between the mosque service and his burial.

Arsenal councillor Bashir Ibrahim attended the funeral and said: “People took leave from work to come – I was talking to people who took annual leave or worked a half day to come.

“A lot of people wanted to attend his funeral and support his family and pay their respects.

“The testimony from his friends and family [at the funeral] shows that he was an all-round stand-up guy who was rooted in his community, and that really showed in the diversity of people who turned up.

“It wasn’t just members of the Somali community, it was a cross section of not just all of Islington, but of London. It was a very moving service.”

Mr Watt said: “His death was really, really painful.” To Mr Abdi-Noor’s family, he said: “It’s a painful thing for them, and we don’t want to infringe on them, we want to show our love for them as well.”

When asked what he wanted his final words for his friend to be, Mr Watt asked we print this: “BLANCO FOREVER <3.”