This is the chilling moment a teenage Afghan refugee bought a knife before travelling 150 miles to murder a man his family had accused of stalking.
Sulaiman Tajzai, 18, pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey on Friday to the murder of 26-year-old Farmanullah Sherzad, the Metropolitan Police said.
CCTV footage shows Tajzai buying a knife at a shop near his home in Leeds on March 27 before he travelled all the way to Mr Sherzad’s address in Westminster to kill him.
Jurors heard how he attacked and repeatedly stabbed Mr Sherzad in his frenzied assault that evening on Abbey Orchard Street just before 10.15pm.
They were caught on CCTV as Tajzai was seen chasing his victim through the streets.
Mr Sherzad – who had been the subject of multiple complaints of stalking by Tajzai’s family – suffered several stab wounds and died 20 minutes later despite the efforts of medical staff.
Tajzai’s murderous hunt was tracked across London on CCTV, where he was seen arriving at King’s Cross Station and walking on to Mr Sherzad’s home.
His victim had just finished work at 10pm and was cycling home, where his killer was waiting for him, the court heard.
Afghan refugee Sulaiman Tajzai, 18, was seen buying a knife in Leeds before murdering a man his family accused of stalking in London
Farmanullah Sherzad, 26, was ambushed outside his home by Tajzai and chased down in the streets. He was stabbed to death on Abbey Orchard Road and died at 10.35pm on March 27
security camera footage showed a scuffle near Mr Sherzad’s house, and that he ran ‘screaming for his life’ as Tajzai attacked him, Lisa Wilding KC said
He arrived 15 minutes later, and security camera footage showed a scuffle near Mr Sherzad’s house, and that he ran ‘screaming for his life’ as Tajzai attacked him, Lisa Wilding KC said.
Tajzai then ran away from the scene and dropped a pair of black gloves near St James’ Park. Mr Sherzad’s blood was found on the gloves and DNA inside them was linked to Tajzai, forensic investigators found.
The murderer tried to catch a train back to Leeds from King’s Cross station; however, he missed it and got onto another one just after 6am the following day.
He was arrested at his cousin’s house in Leeds on March 29, and police officers searched the address, seizing multiple items belonging to him, including a pair of blood-stained trainers.
The death feud began months before, in autumn 2025, when the prosecutor said there was a clear ‘pre-existing connection’ between Tajzai’s cousin’s wife and Mr Sherzad, which had ‘turned sour’.
The cousin and his wife had reported him to police in Leeds in September last year, showing an officer an image of the victim and text messages in Arabic.
But when spoken to privately, the wife deleted the texts, refused to sign a statement and left the police station.
Last October 3, police officers attended the couple’s home in Leeds and found Mr Sherzad sitting on the floor with his wrists tied together with fabric and no shoes on, jurors heard.
Mr Sherzad was arrested on suspicion of stalking and trespass with intent to commit a sexual offence, the court heard.
However, he went on to claim to be in a relationship with the wife, saying he had come to Leeds to visit after she had invited him on Snapchat.
Following his release, the defendant’s cousin and his wife contacted the police multiple times and were later told there would be ‘no further action’ against Mr Sherzad.
CCTV footage revealed that Tajzai had travelled to London in the weeks before the attack to scope out Mr Sherzad’s home address and where he worked, the police said.
In a statement issued after Tajzai pleaded guilty, Detective Chief Inspector Wayne Jolley, who led the investigation, said: ‘This is a devastating case in which a young man lost his life after being subjected to a brutal and senseless act of violence.
‘No family should have to endure the pain of losing a loved one in such circumstances.’
Tajzai also pleaded guilty to possession of a bladed article and is due to be sentenced at the Old Bailey on September 18.
