TRIBUTES have been paid to a “beautiful young man” who was fatally injured in Colchester.
A huge emergency services response was called to Distillery Lane in the Hythe after reports a man had been seriously wounded in the early hours of Monday.
A 22-year-old man was later arrested on suspicion of murder in Dover hours after the victim was declared dead at the scene at about 2am.
He has since been named locally as Kurdish 23-year-old Bako Azad, who arrived in the UK as a youngster from Iraq.
A series of shops within the Kurdish community remained closed during the start of this week in Colchester as a gesture of respect after hearing the news.
Farhad Mohammad, who runs Queen Street restaurant Arbil, told the Gazette he hasn’t stopped crying since he heard of his friend’s death.
“One of my friends called me on Monday afternoon and told me ‘Bako is gone’ and I said ‘how?’,” said the restaurant owner.
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“It hurt me so much, he has been here a lot of times. He is such a nice guy and it is not just me and Kurdish people who think this, those of all cultures liked him.
“Every day since I heard, I have cried. Bako was such a good guy. He ordered food from me on Sunday evening and came to collect it.
“He was a real smiler and would never hurt anyone. He was always helping anyone as much as he could and there was nothing bad anyone could say about him.”
Essex Police has yet to officially confirm the victim’s identity but it stated his family is being supported.
Shelly Braddock-Overbury, of Refugee Action Colchester, helped Bako in her role and said a lot of people knew him and regarded him highly.
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“He used to bring people to us who needed help and he would translate, he loved helping people,” she said.
“I was shocked and devastated to hear what had happened. He was such a bright young man with his future ahead of him.
“If anyone from the Kurdish community does need support then please do contact us.”
The arrested man, of no fixed address, remains in police custody.
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