The family of a man stabbed to death at a retail park in south London have said “a light has gone out in our lives”.
Police have now named the victim of Sunday’s knife attack at the Valley Retail Park in Croydon as Lorik Abazi.
Mr Abazi, 22, from Croydon, was one of three men found with stab wounds by police after they were called to Hesterman Way at around 1.15am following reports of a stabbing.
He was taken to hospital but, despite the efforts of medical staff, he died, the Metropolitan Police said in a statement on Tuesday.
Mr Abazi’s family, who are being supported by specialist officers, described him as “a caring, smart young man with a good sense of humour and his whole future ahead of him”.
Asking for privacy, they said: “We, his parents, brother, girlfriend, grandparents and extended family and friends loved him very much. A light has gone out in our lives, and we are devastated beyond words by his loss.”
Seven people have been arrested over the incident, with two women, both aged 25, and a man of 28, held on suspicion of murder on Sunday afternoon, the force said.
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All three are still in police custody. One of the women has been released on bail while the investigation continues.
Two men aged 21, one of whom is being treated in hospital for potentially life-threatening injuries, were also arrested on suspicion of affray. The other was taken to hospital but is now in police custody.
Two other women, aged 21 and 22, were also arrested on suspicion of affray. The 21-year-old woman has been bailed while enquires continue and the 22-year-old woman remains in police custody.
Chief Superintendent Nick Blackburn, who leads policing in the area, said Mr Abazi’s family and loved ones “have suffered an unimaginable loss”.
Appealing to the public for help, he said detectives were “working around the clock” on the investigation.
