Boy, 15, is charged with murder after minicab driver, 37, was stabbed to death

A 15-year-old boy has been charged with murder after a minicab driver was stabbed to death in a ‘frenzied attack’ in his vehicle outside a school in North London. 

The body of Gabriel Bringye, 37, who was planning his wedding for later this year, was found in his vehicle in Tottenham at around 7.20pm on Wednesday night.

Despite the efforts of paramedics, Mr Bringye, who was from the local area, was pronounced dead at the scene 40 minutes later. 

Detectives believe he was murdered by a customer who had fled by the time police arrived.

Friends say nothing was stolen and they believe Mr Bringye was either the victim of a targeted attack or had been in an argument with his customer. 

The Metropolitan Police said a 15-year-old boy arrested on Friday afternoon had since been charged with murder and handling stolen property.

The teenager appeared at Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court on Saturday, where he was remanded in custody ahead of appearing at the Old Bailey on Tuesday. 

The incident sparked Scotland Yard’s 15th murder investigation of the year so far in London.

Groom-to-be Mr Bringye was originally from Romania but had been in the UK for 13 years and had worked as a minicab driver in London since 2015.  

The Met said Mr Bringye’s next of kin have been informed of his death and are being supported by officers.

An investigation into the incident is being led by homicide detectives from the Specialist Crime Command. 

More than £19,000 has already been raised in a heartbreaking appeal by his family to ‘help take Gabriel home’ to be with his parents in Romania. 

In her appeal, Gabriel’s sister said: ‘Unfortunately, my brother was killed while working as a taxi driver.

‘We don’t have much information about what happened because the police don’t tell us anything and the culprit has not been caught yet. They are left with a family that will never recover.’

She added: ‘Please help us take Gabriel home, to be with his parents, in the country where he was born and he would have wanted to go back one day but not like that.’

His sister has given police details of his last pickup which was an address in Tottenham.

The fare was ordered through the Bolt mobile app in which customers can book a private hire cab in the same way they use the Gett taxi app.

A friend paid tribute to Mr Bringye, who lived in Leyton, East London, and said he was excited about getting married to his fiancée Mara later this year.

They said: ‘The wedding plans had been put on hold due to Covid but Gabriel was hopeful him and Mara could marry this year.

‘It’s an awful tragedy. He was the nicest, most gentle human being you could meet. He wouldn’t harm a fly. We are all in shock. 

‘We don’t know if he perhaps got into an argument with a passenger and was stabbed because of that. I can’t believe why anyone would want to hurt him.

‘He didn’t have children himself but he doted on his sister’s children. He was a great uncle and very close to his brother and sister, who lived near him.

‘We don’t know many details yet, he was working last night and was killed just after he had picked up a fare apparently.

‘The police were called by someone who had been on a bus parked opposite the murder scene.’

Mr Bringye lived with Mara at a terraced home in Tottenham. She was too upset to talk this morning.

However, another friend told MailOnline: ‘We believe he was stabbed by a customer during a trip on the Bolt app.

‘The attacker did not take anything from him and it happened in a low traffic area, leaving the impression that the attacker maybe prepared everything in advance.

‘Gabriel’s sister managed to get into his Bolt account and the last journey had not yet closed so she could see the pick-up address which was in N17, near to where the murder took place.

‘Gabriel’s car had been left right in front of the gate at Ferry Lane Primary School.’

DCI Neil John, who is leading the investigation, said earlier this week: ‘We are still in the early stages of trying to establish what happened on Jarrow Road on Wednesday evening and we are still trying to establish the motive for this attack.

‘Gabriel, who worked as a private hire driver, was found fatally injured inside his car. We need to know why he was there, and who else was present.

‘It is vital that we gather every piece of evidence so that we can identify who is responsible for taking Gabriel’s life.’

Anyone with any information about the killing is urged to contact the Met’s incident room on 020 8358 0100 or the police non-emergency number on 101 quoting reference CAD 6202/17FEB.

Alternatively, witnesses can contact Crimestopper anonymously on 0800 555 111.