A knife thug who tried to kill his lawyer in his office has been jailed for 11 years.
Muhammad Shoaib, 71, feared he was going to die after he was stabbed in the chest by client Esaya Neguse.
Chilling CCTV footage released yesterday showed Neguse, 37, seconds before the attack. He had 11 previous convictions and had been freed early from a previous 12-month jail term for being threatening and abusive towards police.
Mr Shoaib’s colleagues tackled Neguse after he launched the terrifying attack in Glasgow‘s south side before police officers intervened.
The former Alba party council election candidate was left suffering nightmares and panic attacks after the vicious stabbing. He told STV: ‘My life has changed since the attack, I thought ‘I am going to die’.
A grab shows Esaya Neguse at MS Solicitors in Glasgow, just seconds before he stabbed his own lawyer
Neguse (pictured) had 11 previous convictions and had been freed early from a previous 12-month jail term for being threatening and abusive towards police
Neguse is shown on CCTV footage entering the solicitors’ practice before his chilling attack
He is then shown sitting down on one of the waiting chairs, while the person sat at the desk stands up
‘It happened so suddenly I couldn’t even shout. I have flashbacks and have had panic attacks. I wake up in the night sometimes, thinking someone is attacking me.’
Neguse admitted attempting to murder Mr Shoaib after his victim told jurors of his horrific ordeal.
Sentencing Neguse at the High Court in Glasgow yesterday, Lord Colbeck said: ‘You attempted to murder a solicitor representing your interests.
‘You did so using a weapon that you were carrying for that purpose. I take into account a degree of planning was involved.’
The court heard the lawyer was at work on September 21, 2022, when Neguse turned up unannounced at the office of MS Solicitors in the city’s Victoria Road. Mr Shoaib agreed to see him but instead of taking a seat, Neguse whipped out a kitchen knife.
The lawyer told jurors: ‘He started attacking towards my neck, then for a second time on my chest. I had to put my hand out to stop him. The blood was coming out of my chest. It was like a shower of blood.’
Mr Shoaib screamed to his colleagues – fellow lawyer Muhammed Ibrahim and legal secretary Amin Syed – for help, who managed to get Neguse out of the room as he still clung onto the six-inch blade.
Mr Shoaib said: ‘I thought I was going to die. The whole floor was filled up with my blood.’
CCTV footage showed Mr Ibrahim and Mr Syed dragging the attacker outside to attract the attention of police stopped at traffic lights.
Neguse, wearing a red jacket and baseball cap, is seen holding a letter just seconds before making his move in a vile attack
Muhammad Shoaib, 71, was told he was lucky to survive after the blade entered millimetres from his lung
A surgeon told Mr Shoaib he was lucky to survive as the blade had entered millimetres from his lung.
Neguse – from Eritrea in East Africa – also pleaded guilty to assaulting Mr Shoaib’s colleagues, having a knife in a public place, behaving in a threatening manner and spitting on a police officer.
The hearing yesterday was told Neguse had changed his plea to guilty after viewing the CCTV of the incident during the trial.
Lord Colbeck ordered Neguse be supervised for a further five years on his release. He was further made subject of a non-harassment order banning him from approaching or contacting Mr Shoaib.