Dilovan Sindi set himself and another man on fire at a Newcastle barber shop in a horrifying revenge attack after he was fired over allegations of stealing, leaving the other man with burns so bad he was left ‘half a person’
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Dilovan Sindi douses barber shop in petrol in shocking attack
This is the moment a spurned employee poured petrol over a barber shop where he’d worked before torching himself in front of horrified clients – including a baby having his first hair cut.
Dilovan Sindi marched into Amed’s Hair Design in Newcastle in May 2023 and began dousing it in petrol. Sindi then ignited a lighter causing a fireball which engulfed him and one of the owners at the time.
After running out into the street, a passing lorry driver was able to extinguish Sindi with a fire extinguisher. He suffered burns to 85% of his body, while the other man suffered burns to 75%.
Among those inside the barbers that day was a 15-month-old boy who was sitting on his father’s lap having his first haircut, a court heard. Thankfully the infant did not suffer any physical injuries, but the court heard he may be left with PTSD from the event.
Newcastle crown court heard the firebombing had been a “revenge” attack following a dispute with the barber’s current and previous owners. Sindi, 40, had previously worked at the shop and believed he had a financial interest in the business, but earlier that month he had been sacked after accusations he’d been stealing, which he denied.
Sindi, from Washington, Tyne & Wear, pleaded guilty to arson with intent to endanger life, attempted wounding and causing grievous bodily harm. Prosecutor Chris Wood told the court that Sindi turned up on the day in question with a jerry can and began pouring the contents on the floor saying, “get out, get out”.
Mr Wood said: “Once he stopped squirting the petrol around he stopped and pulled out a lighter at this point.” The court heard both the current and previous owners of the shop were sprayed with petrol.
The previous owner bravely tried to take the lighter away from Sindi but Mr Wood said it fell to the floor and added: “There was an explosion of fire.” The previous told the court in a moving statement how he can now never work again and feels he would be “better off dead” after suffering serious burns.
He added: “I am still alive but I have no life. I am a half of a person. My brain and body will never recover from this.” The baby in the shop at the time was taken to hospital, but thankfully neither he nor his father suffered serious injuries.
The youngster had a “tiny singe” to his hair and doctors noted soot and mucus around his nose and mouth but he was physically well. However, he has since become “clingy”, has thinning hair, will not settle at nursery and has night terrors. His mum was told his symptoms could be due to post-traumatic stress disorder.
John Wilkinson, defending, said Sindi, who was put into an induced coma due to his burns, still requires surgeries and has been left with lifelong scarring and pain. Mr Wilkinson told the court: “He believed, rightly or wrongly, he had an interest in (the business) and he was being deprived of that interest.”
Mr Wilkinson said Sindi is not a “dangerous man” and added: “He is a religious man and sees what happened and the fact he survived that fire, surprisingly bearing in mind the state he was in, as he being given a second chance to prove he is a decent human being and not someone who would go out of his way to commit this sort of offence again.”
Jailing Sindi for seven years and two months, Judge Robert Adams said there was “clearly an element of revenge” to the attack. Following the hearing, the officer in charge of the case, Detective Inspector Rona Malessa, of Northumbria Police, said: “Sindi’s actions on May 23, 2023, were utterly abhorrent and he caused serious, life-changing injuries to one of his victims.
“It is fortunate that we are not dealing with much worse outcomes given the seriousness of the attack that day. I hope this case demonstrates to the public that we will always look to prosecute violent offenders in our communities and do everything we can to put them before the courts and bring them to justice.”
