Life for teenager who plotted college massacre in revenge
A college gun massacre was prevented by a Facebook friend of the plotter who tipped off police, a court heard.
Liam Lyburd had planned to carry out a massacre at Newcastle College with bombs and a semi-automatic pistol because he held a grudge after being kicked off his maths and English course for poor attendance and bad behaviour.
The 19-year-old, of Arthur’s Hill, Newcastle, had retreated into a reclusive online world, rarely leaving his bedroom, and amassed a “kill bag” and formidable weapons including pipe bombs, a Glock pistol and 94 hollow-tipped expanding bullets.
Police were alerted in November by a member of the public who was concerned about Facebook posts Lyburd made talking about launching a murderous attack.
A computer specialist recovered a deleted file from his PC in which he wrote about getting vengeance on the college which had forced him to leave two years before. It said: “You people ruined my whole life, don’t expect me to show mercy today. No one disrespects me and gets away with it. I’ll teach you people a little lesson on respect with my 9mm jacketed hollow points.
“It’s time for extreme civil disobedience... People will die, there’s no question about that.”
Lyburd was jailed for life with a minimum of eight years at Newcastle Crown Court after he admitted possessing the items and being found guilty of having them with intent to endanger life.
Judge Paul Sloan QC said he was in no doubt that Lyburd would have carried out his planned attack had he not been caught. He told him: “Your emotional coldness and detachment and your lack of empathy to others was self-evident.”
As Lyburd was taken away, he laughed and told officers they had saved lives, preventing what would have otherwise been a massacre.