Student sentenced to almost four years after classmates raised alarm over threats of a planned attack
A teenager who threatened to carry out a bomb attack at his college after developing an obsession with mass killers has been sentenced to almost four years in custody after police uncovered explosive materials, extremist bomb-making videos and a violent manifesto at his home.
Jagger Strang, who was 17 at the time of the offences, was sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court on Monday to three years and 11 months’ detention in a young offenders’ institution.
The case came to light in September last year when three students at Stafford College alerted staff after Strang allegedly told classmates he intended to carry out a bombing at the campus and claimed to possess a cache of weapons.
During an exchange on Snapchat, prosecutors said he shared images and videos relating to homemade weapons alongside material glorifying notorious mass killers. The conversation also contained disturbing videos of animal cruelty, prompting fellow students to report their concerns immediately.
The college responded by cancelling his classes and contacting police, who executed a search warrant at his Staffordshire home on 9 September. Officers recovered explosive substances and discovered evidence showing that Strang had viewed online instructional material relating to explosives and detonators.
Digital examinations further revealed that, shortly before his arrest, the teenager had researched the Southport murders committed by Axel Rudakubana, together with information about other mass killers. Detectives also found searches relating to previous school attacks.
Among the material seized was a handwritten manifesto in which Strang described ambitions to carry out a violent rampage and expressed a desire to achieve notoriety through mass murder. The document also detailed violent fantasies involving attacks in a hospital setting.
The court heard that Strang had become fixated on several high-profile mass murderers, writing that he wanted to achieve the same level of infamy.
His mother told investigators that her son had once been a cheerful and outgoing child while growing up in South Africa, but said his behaviour changed dramatically after the family relocated to Britain when he was 13. The family later experienced significant personal difficulties, including his father’s life-changing stroke in February 2025 and the subsequent breakdown of his parents’ relationship later that year.
Strang admitted two counts of possessing explosive substances between September 2024 and September 2025. He also pleaded guilty to possessing terrorist publications containing bomb-making instructions, making threats to kill fellow students, threatening to detonate a bomb at Stafford College and possessing an offensive weapon, namely a blowpipe.
He denied two additional charges alleging an intention to endanger life by constructing an explosive device. Prosecutors confirmed those counts would not be pursued after accepting there was insufficient evidence to prove that specific intent.
Detective Inspector Dave Rowlands praised the actions of the students and college staff whose swift reporting triggered the police investigation.
“This was a deeply concerning case involving threats that understandably caused significant alarm among students and staff at the college.
“Thanks to the vigilance of those who reported their concerns, together with the rapid response of our officers, we were able to intervene quickly and prevent any potential harm.”
The case follows two other recent prosecutions involving teenagers who became fixated on the Southport murders.
In January, McKenzie Morgan, from Cwmbran in South Wales, was sentenced to 14 months in youth detention after admitting offences relating to material praising Axel Rudakubana and attempting to obtain a knife while aged 17.
Two months later, a 16-year-old from Kirkby, Merseyside, received a youth rehabilitation order after admitting offences linked to plans inspired by the Southport attack.
Neither case resulted in terrorism charges. Instead, prosecutors relied on alternative offences because, under current legislation, attacks of this nature are not necessarily classified as terrorism unless they are driven by an ideological motive.
The distinction has prompted growing calls from senior policing and legal figures for reforms to better address so-called “violence-fixated individuals”, whose actions may present an equally serious threat despite lacking a recognised ideological objective.
Axel Rudakubana was 17 when he murdered six-year-old Bebe King, seven-year-old Elsie Stancombe and nine-year-old Alice Aguiar during a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport on 29 July 2024. He is serving a life sentence.
