A teenager obsessed with mass shootings has been sentenced to 16 years in prison after purchasing a handgun and ammunition on the dark web. Kyle Davies, 19, from Gloucester, regarded the Columbine High School attackers and Norwegian extremist Anders Breivik as his heroes.
Davies used Bitcoin to buy a Glock 17 handgun and five rounds of ammunition from a dark web dealer, ordering delivery to his family home. US homeland security intercepted the package at Newark airport and alerted UK police, who arrested him in July 2018 after delivering a dummy package.
Davies claimed he bought the gun to kill himself, but a search of his bedroom revealed handwritten notes and a USB stick containing over 1,000 pages of material on explosives and massacres. Judge Paul Cook said Davies had taken practical steps to carry out a mass killing, with a budget exceeding £10,000.
Police found a note titled 'Götterdammerung' listing equipment for a mass shooting, including a gas mask, trenchcoat, and explosives ingredients. Davies had also drawn 77 stick figures representing Breivik's victims. He was convicted of attempting to possess a firearm with intent to endanger life and related charges.
