A young british Muslim who died while attempting to save the life of an elderly woman has been praised as a hero.
Ali Abucar Ali, 20, reportedly intervened last Friday to help 82-year-old Betty Walsh who was stabbed and punched in West London.
The Somali man, who was studying at Kingston University, was in Bretford when the incident happened.
Hours earlier, he was coaching his last session at Chiswick Gators Basketball Club.
“Ali was the most genuine, loyal, caring individual I’ve ever met in my life,” Michael Kwentoh, a former junior international basketball player who founded the club told Al Jazeera.
He added: “He just didn’t deserve what happened to him. He was just so innocent, so pure,” said Kwentoh.”
Kwentoh said Ali coached boys between the ages of six and 10, and “made them feel like they were stars”. “He’d just make you believe in you more than you believe in yourself,” he added.
The club founder is now planning a vigil for Ali on Saturday, which will take place at a park near where the incident happened.
“I will do my utmost best to live a little bit like how Ali did, because even as a 40-year old man, I feel like he taught me a lot about kindness and patience,” he said.
Meanwhile, a GoFundMe page fundraising in Ali’s honour has raised almost £100,000 in only two days and paid tributes to Ali’s kindness.
The woman he saved remains in hospital, having undergone kidney surgery.
Meanwhile, suspect Norris Henry, 37, appeared at Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court on Monday, charged with both the murder of Ali and attempted murder of Walsh, according to the BBC.
Related: Azeem Rafiq: ‘English cricket is institutionally racist’