A transgender teenager from Scotland has been jailed for six years for planning a school shooting.
Felix Winter, 18, revered the perpetrators of the Columbine High School massacre carried out in the United States in 1999 and held neo-Nazi views.
Glasgow High Court heard that Winter, who was born female but identifies as male, frequently spoke about carrying out a copycat attack to "clear out" an Edinburgh secondary school, labelling the planned event as "Doomsday".
Winter was the focus of a major police investigation in 2023 after a photo of the then-16-year-old wearing full combat gear and brandishing a fake gun caused panic among students and parents.
POLICE SCOTLAND
|PICTURED: Felix Winter, 18, revered the perpetrators of the Columbine High School massacre
Details came to light of Winter being radicalised after spending over 1,000 hours interacting with a neo-Nazi group on the social platform Discord.
The shooting planner had previously been referred to the Prevent counter-terror programme.
Winter had pleaded guilty to a breach of the peace and terrorism offences in February.
Shelagh McCall KC, defending Winter, asked the judge for an alternative to a custodial sentence, citing that her client was a "vulnerable young person" with mental health issues, but judge Lord Arthurson denied this request.
Prosecutor Greg Farrell revealed to the court that Winter came into school in June 2023 wearing a military tactical vest, a helmet, cargos and a pair of boots.
PA
|Glasgow High Court heard that Winter frequently spoke about carrying out a copycat attack to 'clear out' an Edinburgh secondary school
The teenager told a girl online that the attack was planned because of bullying at school.
Winter had spoke to another girl about his plans in detail in November 2022, which involved starting the planned massacre on the school's second floor before moving downstairs and turning the gun on himself.
The 18-year-old had also told a classmate of plans to "place a bomb in every second classroom".
McCall said that Winter had no understanding of the "illegality" or "appreciate the fear and alarm that he was likely to cause".
PA |
Police Scotland’s Assistant Chief Constable paid tribute to officers' 'diligence and hard work'
Stuart Houston, Assistant Chief Constable of Police Scotland, said: “This was an extremely complex and fast-moving investigation, and I want to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the diligence and hard work of the officers who worked tirelessly to gather the evidence and bring the perpetrator to justice.
"The inquiry also underlines the advantages of working closely in partnership as part of the Prevent programme, which promotes early intervention through tailored, diversionary support to individuals who may be susceptible to supporting or committing terrorism to help keep our communities safe."