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Warehouse worker who left colleague with half a skull in barbell attack jailed for 32 years after sickening ambush

Published on July 8, 2025

A Derby warehouse worker who waited in the street and then beat his colleague with a 3lb metal barbell has been jailed for 32 years after a violent revenge attack that left the victim with half of his skull missing.

Abdulsalam Hassan, 27, lay in wait for his colleague Abdulmalik Aman and struck him from behind as he walked past the defendant’s flat with a bag of shopping. In a chilling and deliberate ambush, Hassan attacked with such force that Abdulmalik collapsed instantly and didn’t fight back, reports Derbyshire Live.

Judge Jonathan Bennett told Hassan the attack was “ferocious and sustained,” and that Abdulmalik had no chance to defend himself. “The CCTV is disturbing to watch. He was defenseless. There was one final blow where you lifted his head from the gutter, hit him again, left him there and calmly went into your flat and changed your clothing.”

The court heard that Abdulmalik was left with life-threatening injuries so severe that a section of his skull had to be removed to allow for brain swelling. He now lives with right-sided paralysis, has no memory of the attack, and is forced to wear a helmet to protect his exposed brain. His life has been completely shattered.

The attack happened around 7.20pm on October 2 last year near Burton Road and Abbey Street in Derby. Prosecutor Mary Prior KC said the entire incident was caught on CCTV, showing Hassan repeatedly raising the bar above his head to deliver maximum damage. He struck Abdulmalik at least 12 times to the head and several more times to the body.

The pair had previously worked together at a Marks & Spencer warehouse on the night shift. Months earlier, Hassan had reported being attacked by Abdulmalik and another man, which left him with broken teeth and a fractured nose. However, the police investigation had stalled due to a lack of interpreters, and this delay appeared to fuel Hassan’s rage.

Mrs Prior told the court: “At no stage did he appear relieved that Abdulmalik lived or expressed any sorrow or remorse. His view was and remains that Abdulmalik deserved what he got.”

Abdulmalik spent weeks in intensive care, undergoing emergency surgery and later being transferred to a rehabilitation unit. He now suffers daily with excruciating facial pain, constant headaches that make him sick, and has difficulty speaking, eating and walking. He told the court, through a statement from Caroline Wright at Headway Derby, that he lives a lonely and isolated life. “I suffer constant headaches which make me physically sick and I’m in significant facial pain. I am housebound because of my social anxiety and risk of falling,” he said.

He also described the heartbreak of losing the life he once had. “I wanted to marry, have a family, and the attempted murder of me has totally ruined my life,” he said.

Hassan was convicted of attempted murder after a jury took just three hours to reach their verdict earlier this year. He was sentenced to 28 years in prison with an additional four years on extended licence. He won’t be eligible for parole until he has served two-thirds of his sentence.

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