I’m a Star Wars villain, says Queen’s ‘assassin’
LONDON: The father of a teen suspected of scaling Windsor Castle armed with a crossbow on Christmas Day and threatening to kill the Queen said “something has gone horribly wrong with our son”.
A picture of Jaswant Singh Chail, 19, emerged showing his face after chilling footage went around the world of him in a Star Wars-style mask.
He was held under the Mental Health Act.
His father, Jasbir Singh Chail, said the teen’s family was trying to get help for him.
“Something’s gone horribly wrong with our son and we are trying to figure out what. We’ve not had a chance to speak to him but are trying to get him the help he needs,” The Sun reported.
“From our perspective, we are going through a difficult time. We are trying to resolve this issue and it’s not easy.”
Chail is believed to have sent a video of him posing with a crossbow to his friends on Snapchat minutes before armed officers pounced on him on Christmas morning.
He was just 500m from the Queen’s private apartments, inside the castle grounds.
Chail, known as Jas, was arrested while allegedly armed with a crossbow after scaling a spiked fence with a rope ladder. In the video clip, the figure holds the shiny black weapon and addresses the camera with a distorted voice while wearing a hoodie. He is in a sinister white mask apparently inspired by Star Wars, and his video message made several references to the film franchise’s mythology.
He says: “I’m sorry. I’m sorry for what I’ve done and what I will do. I will attempt to assassinate Elizabeth, Queen of the royal family.
“This is revenge for those who have died in the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre.
“It is also revenge for those who have been killed, humiliated and discriminated on because of their race. I’m an Indian Sikh, a Sith. My name was Jaswant Singh Chail, my name is Darth Jones.”
In Star Wars, the Sith are the enemies of the Jedi Knights and worship the dark side of “the Force”.
The video was posted at 8.06am on Christmas Day. Armed police nabbed the 19year-old intruder at 8.30am after he triggered alarms and was spotted on CCTV.
Chail said he did not expect to survive the attack.
The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre took place in India in 1919, when British colonial troops shot and killed 379 protesters and wounded 1200.