'We can never truly say what he was intending' - Shropshire teen in court for terror offence was 'obsessed' with school shootings
The activities of a “violence-obsessed” Market Drayton teenager who appeared in court today for terror offences and possession of an array of weapons were uncovered by accident by diligent West Mercia Police officers.
The 15-year-old, who appeared at the Central Criminal Court on London's Old Bailey on Friday (August 29), was jailed for 18 months after he pleaded guilty to having a stash of extremist material, including videos of “horrific” school shootings and executions, as well as manifestos from terrorists.
The teenager, who cannot be identified because of his age, admitted four charges of being in possession of a stun gun, butterfly knife, crossbow and baton while under age, as well as a charge of "having a record of information useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism" after a raft of material was found on his devices at his north Shropshire home.
While the investigation into the teen's activities was headed by Counter Terrorism Police West Midlands, it was keen-eyed officers from West Mercia Police who stumbled upon the teen's activities.
Chief Superintendent Mo Lansdale, West Mercia policing commander for Shropshire and Telford, said: “Officers attended his address in the Market Drayton area for an unrelated matter. It was then that officers effectively found an amount of weapons and items displaying extremist symbols.”
She said the symbols spotted by the keen-eyed officers included SS and 'death's head symbols', often associated with Nazi ideology and the far right.
“Officers identified a large number of items displaying these symbols, which obviously raised concerns,” she said. “Officers also recovered electronic devices and when they were reviewed they contained some of the most horrific violent content, including school shootings.”
