Two bullied schoolboys inspired by the Columbine massacre were found guilty yesterday of plotting to kill fellow pupils and teachers with stolen guns and homemade bombs. The friends, who were both 14 at the time, wanted revenge and drew up a list of targets “who deserved it” at the school in Northallerton, North Yorkshire. The boys, who are now 15 and from the town, denied conspiracy to murder, claiming that their plot was merely a “fantasy”. They sat motionless beside their tearful mothers at Leeds crown court as the jury delivered its guilty verdicts. Detective Superintendent Martin Snowden, northeast head of counterterrorism policing, said that the boys had “gone beyond the fantasy and had begun to take very real steps towards making it a reality”.

Source: The Times May 24, 2018 16:18 UTC