Suspect in fatal Dublin stabbing caught on camera with knife after killing as new details emerge & thug flees country

THE chief suspect in the murder of Qayyum Balogun was caught on camera carrying a knife following the fatal stabbing.

The Irish Sun can reveal an image of the thug fleeing with the weapon moments after innocent 21-year-old Qayyum was targeted on Dublin’s Clarendon Street, close to Grafton Street, in the early hours of Monday morning.

The violent brute, who has a number of assault convictions, was on bail for a separate knife attack.

And he has now fled the country to the UK after staying at an Airbnb in south Dublin following the attack, from which bloodied clothes have been recovered.

An associate, in his 20s, was being questioned by Gardai last night after handing himself in.

While a woman, who was arrested on suspicion of assisting the on-the-run murder suspect, was released without charge yesterday with a file being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Two other suspects have also been identified, and other evidence has been recovered.

It comes as Qayyum’s dad told us how they are trying to “cope with the situation”.

Speaking to The Irish Sun from his home in Dundalk yesterday, Ibrahim Balogun told how he believes his son was targeted after he tried to help a woman who was being harassed at the gig he was at in Bewley’s.

Ibrahim wants to reiterate that his son — the eldest of five kids — was not involved in any violence that night, was not part of any gang, and had no links to criminality, which sources have confirmed.

He told us: “It’s heartbreaking, it’s my son. We got on very well. I’ve lost my best friend.

“I mean, he’s like my second person. So we share things together, we talk together, you know what I mean?

“I took him to work all the time.

“He was a very gentle boy, easy going. He tried to rescue a lady being assaulted and then it turned on him.”

Ibrahim came to Ireland from Nigeria almost 30 years ago, with Qayyum born here in 2004.

The proud dad shared pictures of Qayyum, himself, and his mother Teslimot Balogun, who was too devastated to speak yesterday.

And Ibrahim insists that he wants Qayyum’s name, which means eternal, to be remembered.

He said: “That name cannot be erased, Qayyum — the meaning is eternal. And that name will still remain in memory for life.

“We want to say no to knives, that is very important. It is very vital for society.”

Ibrahim added: “We want justice to be served but we also want everything then to be done in private and leave him to rest.”