Teenagers in court for planning Columbine-style attack

Two 14-year-olds plotted ‘re-enactment’ of 1999 shooting at their school in Yorkshire

Two 14-year-old boys planned to murder fellows pupils and teachers in a Columbine-inspired attack on their school in North Yorkshire, a court has heard.

A jury at Leeds crown court was told that the teenagers “hero-worshipped” the Columbine killers and planned a “re-enactment” on their school in Northallerton.

Paul Greaney QC, prosecuting, told jurors: “They intended to shoot and kill other pupils and teachers against whom they held a grievance.

They also, like their heroes, intended to deploy explosives and researched bomb-making techniques to that end.”

The boys, who are now 15 and cannot be named because of their age, were arrested before they could put their plans into action, Greaney added. The pair deny conspiracy to murder.

Dark sub-culture

Barristers removed their wigs and the boys sat in the court dock along with their mothers, flanked by court security officers, before they returned to seats at the back of the court. One of the boys wore spectacles and what appeared to be a school uniform.

Greaney opened the prosecution case by explaining to jurors that 12 students and a teacher were shot and killed in the Columbine high school attack, carried out 19 years ago by Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold.

He said for Harris and Klebold “became anti-heroes” and that there was a “strange, dark subculture of adoration for them and their crimes” on the internet.

The two defendants became fascinated with the killers, Greaney told jurors. “Their interest in them turned to hero-worship,” he added.

The jury heard that the pair downloaded a bomb-making manual from the internet within two minutes of each other. As the alleged plot developed, they were overheard by classmates discussing their plot, the court was told.

The older boy is also accused of using a knife to carve his name into his girlfriend’s back, the court heard. He denies a count of unlawful wounding.