FIFE BOMB THREAT MAN JAILED

A former charity call-centre worker from Rosyth who threatened to carry out a massacre at his place of work in Dunfermline was jailed for 200 days yesterday.

A FORMER charity call centre worker who threatened to blow up his fellow employees was jailed for 200 days at Cupar Sheriff Court yesterday.

Samuel Howitt, 20, of Boyle Drive, Rosyth, admitted that between January 1 2013 and April 18 2013 at Carnegie Campus, Enterprise Way, Dunfermline, he behaved in a threatening manner by telling colleagues he had guns and ammunition and repeatedly stating he wanted to make explosives and bomb his place of work.

He further admitted that between April 5-6 2013, telling a colleague he had guns and was going to shoot people he worked with.

The court heard Howitt, a first offender, had been working for R Fundraising in Dunfermline, an organisation which raises funds for charities such as the Samaritans and Save the Children.

Fiscal depute Nicola Henderson said various colleagues had reported Howitt for making them “scared and intimidated” following a string of threats.

One said Howitt had claimed he wished he had a job where he could shoot people and that he wanted to “kill”.

Other colleagues said Howitt went into detail about the description of the bullets he wanted to use and how they would “shatter” as they entered the body.

It was also claimed he had told a fellow employee he wanted to smuggle a machine gun into the workplace to shoot people.

The court heard Howitt repeatedly boasted to his workmates that he was capable of making a bomb.

He also made racist comments saying he wanted to join the army so he could “shoot Taliban and Pakis”.

The call centre manager was eventually informed of Howitt’s comments and contacted the police.

Officers raided Howitt’s flat but found no guns or bomb-making equipment and later interviewed Howitt who said he “never meant to harm anyone”.

Howitt’s defence solicitor, Toni Pentecost, said Howitt suffered from stress and anxiety and that the threats made were “a mixture of idle threats, bravado and, in some cases, intoxication”.

“There was no intent but that’s perhaps not how it has come across,” he added.

Sentencing Howitt to 200 days in jail, Sheriff Charles Macnair QC said: “Over a prolonged period of time you made threats to harm your work colleagues and others and to kill using particular ammunition and by making homemade bombs.

“Threats to kill and blow people up are serious matters and clearly caused alarm for your work colleagues who were concerned and frightened by these comments, so I am satisfied that only a custodial sentence is appropriate.”

Samuel Howitt told colleagues he had guns and ammunition.