Harrowing video shows teen blasted in the face with shotgun – and survive

Steve Hopkins

After being shot in the face with a shotgun Hassan Hussain got up from the ground and called himself an ambulance

Harrowing footage shows two brothers hellbent on revenge stalking a group of teenagers before pinning one of them to the ground and blasting him in the face with a shotgun.

And miraculously, he survived and was able to get up and call himself an ambulance.

In the CCTV footage, axe-wielding Neil Barnett is seen grappling with Hassan Hussain before his brother Lee Barnett rushes up from behind and shoots the teen from point-blank range.

Burnley Crown Court heard Hussain is “lucky to be alive” after the horror attack on March 10 that started over a dispute in a Morrisons supermarket.

The court heard the brothers were fuelled by rage after Neil was “jumped” in a back alley by a group of teens.

The 34-year-old had accused them of jumping in front of him in the queue in Morrisons before racially abusing one and telling him: “I will kill you and your family.”

Neil was followed into an alleyway and was kicked and punched to the floor, leaving him with bruises and stamp marks on his body and head.

When he got back to his feet he placed a nine-second call to his older brother, Lee, 37, who quickly made his way to Brierfield, Lancashire, from nearby Burnley, to enact revenge.

Paul Treble, prosecuting, said the brothers left the immediate area before returning with an axe and shotgun, stalking the streets for their victims.

They soon tracked them down close to the area where the original incident had taken place, with the group scarpering when they spotted the weapon-wielding brothers.

However, Hussain was caught by Neil, who pinned him to the ground while he waited for his brother, who walks with a limp, to catch up.

At that stage, Lee shot the gun at point-blank range into the victim’s face.

In his victim impact statement, Hussain said: “He [Neil] came towards me with an axe. I grabbed it and hit him, we both went to the floor.

“As I looked up, I saw his (Lee’s) hands and then the shotgun – it was like cut-up from the front. It wasn’t massive.

“All I heard – there was a loud bang and then a flash went off. My head hit the ground and I remember thinking ‘shit’. Then I heard the ringing.”

Hussain was initially treated by paramedics before being taken to hospital where he underwent surgery to remove the bullet and pellets from his head.

The court heard he has been left with pieces of shrapnel in his head that were too deep to be removed.

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Hussain said he can feel them in his mouth, something which is a constant reminder to him of the incident.

Lee pleaded guilty to attempted murder at an earlier hearing while Neil admitted grievous bodily harm.

Mark Stuart, defending Lee, said there was nothing to mitigate for his client’s behaviour: “The only feature, if there is one, is that it is by mere good luck that the consequences were not more severe than they were in terms of the injury.”

Stuart said the offence occurred out of a “wholly misplaced and irrational sense of loyalty to his brother”, adding: “This matter could have been dealt with in a wholly different way. This defendant acted first and thought second. He has pleaded guilty to attempted murder which very rarely happens.”

Mohammed Qazi, defending Neil, said that his client was “extremely shameful” for his use of racists slurs which initiated the incident.

He said: “Clearly he falls to be sentenced for a very serious offence. There can be no doubt that the hallmarks and symptoms that flow from his criminal conduct encompasses elements of revenge, securing of a weapon and reference to further violence.”

Judge Andrew Jefferies QC on Wednesday sentenced Lee to 28 years behind bars while Neil will spend seven years and two months locked up.