Jagger Strang, an 18-year-old from Stafford, has been sentenced to three years and nine months in a young offenders institution after admitting to possessing explosive substances and threatening to bomb Stafford College. The teenager, who once described as a 'bubbly' child, developed an 'unhealthy interest' in explosives and idolised serial killers, including the Sandy Hook school shooter Adam Lanza.
Disturbing Fascination with Violence
Strang's troubling behaviour came to light when he revealed to fellow students that he 'idolised serial killers' and shared an 'ultimate bingo card' of murderers. He asked if anyone could lend him a pressure cooker to 'blow up the college', according to prosecutor Matthew Brook. Strang also distributed images and videos on Snapchat of himself with homemade weapons and content related to the Crimea college massacre, Jeffrey Dahmer, and Southport child killer Axel Rudakubana.
Manifesto and Explosives
Police discovered a 'manifesto' written by Strang, in which he stated: 'I'm writing this before I do something big, something violent, maybe serial killing, maybe a rampage.' At his home, officers found homemade weapons, including a blow pipe, and chemicals such as gunpowder and thermite. Strang had conducted experiments with these explosives after obtaining the chemicals to manufacture his own gunpowder and thermite.
Court Proceedings
During sentencing at Birmingham Crown Court, Mr Justice Wall described Strang as an 'isolated young man' who had 'problems' at home and had not come to terms with his family's move from South Africa to the UK. The judge accepted that Strang had pleaded guilty on the basis that he had no intention of building a bomb, but warned him that gunpowder and thermite 'are not toys'. Strang admitted seven offences, including two counts of possession of explosive substances, two counts of possession of information likely to be useful for terrorist purposes, making a threat to kill, threatening to destroy or damage property, and possession of a prohibited weapon.
Defence Argument
Charles Miskin, defending, argued that Strang's behaviour was an 'immature reaction to real life issues' and that he was 'not evil' but 'behaved badly'. Miskin emphasised that Strang was 'not radicalised' and 'not a visitor of the dark web'. Strang had no previous convictions.
