A music promoter was "executed" in a smart London suburb neighbourhood after popping into a bar to chat with a friend, it has emerged.
Detectives are hunting two men after granddad Anthony 'Tony' Charlery was stabbed in the throat on Portobello Road in Notting Hill late on Friday night.
The 59-year-old had briefly been into the Mau Mau bar to greet a friend moments before he was brutally knifed in the throat, leaving him bleeding to death in the street.
One witness, who asked to remain anonymous, saw Mr Charlery have his last conversation before the attack.
He said: "Tony walked into the bar, he was here for seconds, said 'hello' to his mate and left.
"Four minutes later he was knifed.
"It was Carnival last weekend so Friday was a really quiet night. There were hardly any people around in the street.
"The bar had just closed at 11.45pm and the lights were on.
"One of the doormen was outside and said 'someone's just been stabbed'.
"He saw a guy acting funny in the street so he went up to check on him.
"He asked him if he was alright.
"When he got there he had his hands around his neck, there was blood spraying out of his fingers and he couldn't talk. He was a dead man.
"Apparently these two guys, just wearing normal clothes, not all black or in hoods or anything, walked right behind him and got him around the neck.
"They stuck the knife right in. They were executing him. It would have been a serious wound. Then they just walked off.
"They knew who they were after. He was a target."
The murder was just yards from the scene of another vicious stabbing.
A 24-year-old was hospitalised after the attack outside a Tesco store around 100 metres from the Mau Mau bar earlier in the summer.
The witness added: "This is a fancy area - you've got people with serious money and fancy houses.
"But there's Ladbroke Grove the next street up where there's always been gangs.
"Ten years ago things were bad - there were protection rackets for the shops and bars and a lot of violence.
"Things had got a lot better, but recently it's happening more and more frequently.
"There was a young guy got stabbed up outside Tesco a few months ago, these guys will fight anywhere and they try to kill each other."
Det Ch Insp Nicola Wall, of the Homicide and Major Crime Command, said of Mr Charlery's death: “On Friday 29 August, Tony went alone to the Mau Mau bar in Portobello Road W11.
"He was only inside the venue for a short while and was stabbed as he left. Tony received the fatal wound as he tried to run away from his attackers.
“I appeal to anyone who knows the identity of the persons involved to call detectives. Tony was a local man and a much loved grandfather. His family are devastated by his death in such a brutal way.
“As I believe the two suspects to be local men, I especially appeal to the Notting Hill community for help.”
Anyone with information should call police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
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