Two teenage boys from North Yorkshire have been found guilty of plotting to kill students and teachers, and using a bomb to blow up their school.
The boys, who were reportedly bullied, “wanted revenge and drew up a list of targets ‘who deserved it’ at the school in Northallerton”, says The Times. They had reportedly developed an obsession with the Columbine massacre.
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During their trial, it emerged that police discovered a rucksack containing balaclavas and bomb-making ingredients in a hideout used by the boys.
Prosecutor Paul Greaney QC said the boys “hero-worshipped” Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, the pair responsible for killing 12 students and one teacher before killing themselves at Columbine High School in April, 1999.
The Guardian says the older of the two boys was the apparent ringleader, and had planned to steal guns from his girlfriend’s father and “use them to carry out a massacre at his school”.
The older boy was also found guilty of unlawful wounding for carving his name into his former girlfriend’s lower back, and aggravated burglary after he broke into her family’s home.