They said his four “beautiful daughters” aged eight months, three, six and nine, “were his pride and joy, and his love for them was beyond words”.
“His presence in their lives will be deeply missed, and the memories he created with them will forever remain in their hearts,” they added.
“No words can truly express the depth of our loss or the pain and grief we carry in our hearts.”
His family said losing him “at such a young age has left an emptiness in our family that can never be filled”.
“We will miss his smile, his kindness, his love and the precious moments we shared with him,” they said.
“He will be dearly missed by his family, his friends, and all those whose lives he touched with his goodness and compassion.”
Det Ch Insp Zed Ali from GMP’s major incident team said: “Our thoughts are with Kevin’s friends and family at this sad time, who are being supported by specialist officers.
“The victim and the suspect are believed to have known each other prior to the incident, and we’d like to reassure the community that we believe this to be an isolated incident, with no wider threat to the community.”