A burglar armed with a claw hammer who burst into a disabled man’s home in the early hours got more than he bargained for, after the sharp-witted resident grabbed a kitchen knife and stabbed the intruder in the chest.
Shamas Malik, 22, from Hull was left with blood pouring from his wound and fled the scene quickly after being stabbed, only to be picked up by police shortly after.
The authorities were called by the disabled man after he heard “banging and crashing” from Malik and his cronies trying to enter his property.
The victim was in “terror” and feared he was going to die during the “dreadful” incident in his home. However scared he was, the occupier was thinking clearly enough to grab the knife.
In an ironic twist, armed burglar Malik was a law, sociology and criminology student with stellar references. The judge told the young man he had “chosen to throw away” his future through the deliberately targeted burglary.
Malik of Park Grove, Princes Avenue, Hull, admitted the aggravated burglary on August 6.
Prosecutor Alasdair Campbell said that Malik and others raided the house in Kirk Ella, on the outskirts of Kingston upon Hull, at around 3:15am.
The 49-year-old victim had poor mobility after a stroke and had no use of his left arm.
The man heard the raiders trying to gain access to his home and heard someone shout: “Open the door”.
The burglars attempted to kick in the door, before Malik climbed a ladder through an open window on the first floor.
The intruder was wearing a balaclava and was wielding a claw hammer.
Malik went downstairs and came face-to-face with the resident. The burglar struck the man with the hammer multiple times on the chest and upper arms before the resident stabbed him in the chest.
The police arrived on the scene not long after that. A man, not Malik, was apprehended in a car not far from the home. Two other men, both out of breath, were also found on a path.
The others had not yet been charged by the police because they were waiting for forensic evidence. A baseball bat was found.
Malik had suffered a serious chest wound and was bleeding. He was taken to hospital.
Mr Campbell said: “The police did not know at that stage the full extent of what had happened.
“This was clearly a targeted attack by a number of individuals on the property of a vulnerable individual. This defendant came armed and equipped for burglary. He was part of a group. He had a face covering.”
The householder was said to have suffered no lasting injuries.
Fuad Arshad, mitigating, said that nothing was stolen during the raid.
He told Hull Crown Court: “This was a burglary that they had intended to undertake that evening.
“That was the full aim of what they were up to in the early hours.”
The court heard that Malik did not have any knowledge of the man’s physical condition before the burglary.
He said: “The offending would appear to be very much out of character.”
Judge Mark Bury told Malik that it would have been clear to him that the resident was disabled and vulnerable.
He added that had the resident not grabbed a knife the burglary would have been successful.
“That, and that alone, caused you to leave without stealing anything. The police had already been called and they arrived shortly afterwards.
“You were bleeding because of a stab wound, which you tried to pass off as an accident.”
The court heard that doctors at the hospital treating Malik heard that he had been stabbed.
Judge Bury added: “I have no idea why you have chosen to throw away your future by committing this dreadful offence.”
Malik, who was in custody on remand, was jailed for eight years and seven months.
