Teen faces court over alleged planned ‘killing spree’

A troubled teen with an alleged fixation on mass shootings like the Columbine school massacre had “a clear desire” to carry out a mass casualty attack and has been linked to a string of unsolved crimes, police allege.

Police fear a teenager was allegedly planning a killing spree before they claim he was found luring children into bushland with a “kidnap kit”.

Police say that it was only by chance that they stumbled across the 18-year-old, who ­allegedly has been secretly keeping a journal for years ­detailing his support of right wing extremism, homemade firearm instructions and escalating criminal behaviour.

Police said it will be alleged the troubled teenager had “a clear desire” to carry out a mass casualty attack.

Police will allege the 18-year-old, who can’t be legally identified as some of the charges concern matters that occurred when he was a juvenile, has now been linked to a string of unsolved crimes.

That includes allegedly causing more than $2 million worth of damage to high and primary schools in southwest Sydney in 2019 and 2020.

He appeared briefly in Campbelltown Children’s Court on Friday charged with 17 offences.

An off-duty police officer came across the teen in July this year after two children, 8 and 10, playing in a street at Mount Annan reported seeing a man in camouflage gear who allegedly tried to coax them into nearby bushland.

Police will allege they found the teen in the bush with knives, ropes and tools.

He was charged with weapon possession and intimidation and released on bail.

However, his DNA sample was then linked to a $2.5 million fire at a high school in 2019 that destroyed the library.

Campbelltown detectives raided the teenager’s home, where he lived with his parents, and seized electronic ­devices and a journal.

Police will allege that in the journal, the teen detailed the arson attack committed two years prior and five other occasions he had damaged his former schools in the night.

He allegedly wrote of his hatred for the schools and that he hoped he caused enough damage that students couldn’t attend and be taught “by Jews”.

“School wasted so much of my and others lives,” he allegedly wrote in the journal.

“They don’t teach you about the Jews or differences between races. They preach diversity and multiculturalism.”

Aerial view of students at Columbine High School in 1999 during the mass school shooting.

The teen allegedly diarised his fixation on mass shootings, including his critique of the 1999 Columbine school massacre and Norway terrorist ­Anders Breivik’s manifesto.

According to the police allegations, the teen “made clear in his journal his desire to carry out such an attack”.

He referred to the 2019 Christchurch mosque shootings as “the best present ever”.

On a hard drive, police will also allege the teen had homemade firearm instructions and amassed a disturbing amount of violent child pornography.

The teen also allegedly wrote about turning up at the home of a female student.

“All of that I did purely by lust,” his journal stated.

“She is appealing because of her innocence, naivety, stupidity … of course, everything I just typed is disgusting,” he wrote, according to the alleged facts.

“Everyone has fantasised of horrific things, but the difference is I acted upon it.”

The teen was arrested again on Thursday and charged with more offences.

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