A HERO dad-of-three stabbed to death by 'laughing' knife thugs was protecting his brother, it is claimed today.
Gavin Garraway, 40, was knifed through the window of his car in broad daylight in Clapham, South London before his attackers sprinted away.
The shocking killing came just days after the death of his dad Farda Spy - a "legendary" South London musician known as I Spy.
It can now be revealed that Gavin had allegedly been "protecting his brother" before he was knifed on Friday.
A family source told The Sun Online his brother had been "caught up" in trouble before Gavin - who has two teenage kids and one under 10 - stepped in to help.
Hours later, he was heartlessly executed in a "targeted" attack in front of horrified families in the affluent area.
His killing came ahead of two days of bloodshed in the capital - with four people stabbed in just 14 hours in Edmonton, North London, in random attacks.
Cops are still hunting the lone knifeman, who struck in a quarter of a mile radius by stabbing the "alone and vulnerable" victims in the back.
'LAUGHING KILLERS'
Tributes have now flooded in online for Gavin describing him as a "devoted" dad.
One relative, Margaret McDowell, wrote: "RIP my dear x I am going to miss you go rest with your dad", alongside broken heart emojis.
Gavin's dad - nicknamed I Spy within the local community - is believed to have passed away just four days before his son's murder.
Exclusive footage obtained by The Sun Online shows the 'laughing' killers running past a row of shops as they fled the scene on Friday afternoon.
Stunned locals stopped in the busy street as the three young men ran from the third violent death in the capital in just three days.
HOW THE HORROR UNFOLDED
The gang smashed through Gavin's car window after he crashed into a post while desperately trying to get away outside a pub on Clapham High Street.
Eyewitnesses described how passersby pulled him out of the car covered in blood and battled to save him in the middle of the road.
His black VW Polo was examined by forensic officers at the scene outside Clapham Common station as a murder investigation was launched.
Describing the moment the "men in their 20s" set upon the dad-of-three - who died yards from his car - a witness said: "We saw them run past the shop, one of them was laughing.
"They were young, with no facial hair, they didn't really look the type to be honest.
HUNT FOR THUGS
"Across the street I could hear the victim's foot was stuck on the accelerator.
"The men passed by, you could see they were quite smartly dressed underneath the tops."
Another witness said he watched horrified as the dad was stabbed through the window of his car.
He recounted: "None of them tried to cover their face, but they wore hoods, they were black men, skinny and in their early 20s.
"Just one had the knife, it wasn't that long but it was really wide.
"Once they reach his car at the traffic lights he was trapped, so he drove into the post at the lights.
"The men surrounded the car and tried to get inside, one of them picked up a pair of crutches and tried to break the window."
STABBINGS AT A 40 YEAR HIGH
KNIFE crime is at the “highest and most worrying” level in forty years, the Met Police chief says.
But Cressida Dick insisted figures are falling — with knife-related injuries down 15 per cent on last year.
She told MPs on the Commons Home Affairs Committee she is “cautiously optimistic” that serious knife crime is stabilising in London and other UK cities.
But the Commissioner said the past few years had been “deeply worrying” with more younger people involved and more knives on our streets.
She added: “The last couple of years undoubtedly have been the highest and most worrying levels in my service. If you look at stabbings of young people, I do think this is a new and tragic and worrying phenomenon. It is my number one priority.”
There were 44 violent deaths in London by March 26 in 2018 compared with 31 killings this year.
Met Police said they were now working to trace three men of slim build who were seen leaving the scene in what has been described as a "targeted" attack.
DCI Paul Healy, who is leading the investigation, said: "This was a vicious and targeted attack on a man inside his car in a busy area.
"We understand the victim was driving a black VW Golf that was turning right from Clapham High Street onto Clapham Park Road when he was set upon by a group of males whilst sat inside his car. He received fatal injuries."
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Chief Superintendent Simon Messinger, of the South Central Command Unit, said: "My officers remain at the scene today and around the area to provide reassurance to the local community and be on hand to help answer any concerns they may have.
"Homicide detectives do believe this was a targeted attack. That being said, I fully appreciate the alarm and concern this incident will raise particularly coming so soon after the fatal shooting of a young man in West Norwood. At this stage, there is nothing to suggest either incident is connected.
"There will be a visible police presence in the area with additional officers from the Violent Crime Taskforce drafted in to provide visibility and deter any further potential incidents."
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The bloodshed comes as knife crime rages on in Britain, with a 25-year-old shot dead in West Norwood on Wednesday and a man aged in his early 20s stabbed to death in Regent's Park on Thursday night.
A string of attacks this week also saw six people - including four teens - stabbed on Tuesday last week alone.
And there were 44 violent deaths in London by March 26 in 2018.
Any witnesses and those with information should call the Homicide and Major Crime Command Incident Room on 0208 358 0400, Tweet @MetCC or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
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