[ad_1]
A teenager who planned a mass shooting at a school in the Tasmania area had an arsenal that included a shotgun, a military-style semiautomatic rifle, and explosives.
The self-described terrorist spoke with his classmates about blowing up the stage in the school hallway during the assembly and then shooting people.
The teenager had made attack plans, tested explosives and had access to an AR-15 rifle, the same type of semi-automatic firearm used by the Australian gunman who shot 51 people to death in two mosques in the Christchurch terror attack.
Details of the case can be reported after extensive suppression orders were partially lifted following opposition from Things and the Herald of New Zealand.
The identity of the teenager, who is now 18 years old, and the name of the school, which is in the Tasmania area, cannot be reported.
The teenager’s parents have refused to discuss the case.
TEEN PLANNED ‘TERRORIST ATTACK’
According to the factual summary approved for release by the court, the teen obtained a gun license with a Category A or Standard endorsement in February 2018.
In late 2018, police began receiving complaints from members of the public expressing concern about the teenager’s “increasingly inflammatory and extreme views and comments” on social media, where the teenager had posted photos of themselves posing with a shotgun, tactical vest, gloves and a holster. .
They searched the teenager’s home and found three bombs, CO2 gas canisters filled with gunpowder and a match, hidden in his room. The military was called in to make the devices safe and found that they could have started an explosion that caused damage, the summary says.
The teenager, who had no criminal record, said they had manufactured the explosives and had previously set off one in a disused building.
In a locked safe, police found a modified shotgun that had been fitted with a pistol grip for one-handed shooting, and a military-style AR-15 semi-automatic rifle with a flash suppressor in the muzzle and lugs. bayonet. .
The teenager did not have the appropriate firearm license endorsement to possess the AR-15, a weapon that was later banned in the wake of the Christchurch terror attack.
In a drawer, investigators located a folded sheet of paper marked “top secret” containing a sketched map of a school building, with blue crosses marking “primary targets.”
On the teenager’s computer, they found references to the use of the shotgun in an attack on a school. They also discovered a letter to the police that explained the teenager’s actions and declared himself a terrorist.
The letter, the content of which is not discussed in the factual summary, describes part of the teenager’s preparation for the attack, including collecting ammunition.
Investigators also found objectionable images on the teenager’s computer showing the sexual abuse of children.
“The police are concerned that the equipment needed to carry out [the teen’s] The plans had been obtained by [the teen] and located at the address, and this included firearms, ammunition, explosives, clothing, knives, and sketches and plans of the school, ”says the summary.
The teenager was charged with a number of crimes including illegal possession of explosives, illegal possession of a restricted weapon, illegal possession of a firearm, and possession of an objectionable post.
The teen pleaded guilty to the charges in Nelson District Court in October last year after spending eight months in a secure facility.
In December, the teenager was sentenced to two years of intensive supervision and six months of community detention.
Braden Fastier / Nelson Mail
Judge David Ruth said the teenager was “very upset and concerned.” (File photo)
‘VERY ANNOYED AND WITH PROBLEMS’
Judge David Ruth said the teenager’s actions do not amount to “mere reflections of a disgruntled teenager.”
“The preparations made to carry out the various objects … go far beyond any suggestion of that nature.”
“In my opinion, the events of March 15 in Christchurch are really irrelevant here. Long before the March incident, I came to the opinion that this was a matter of considerable gravity and was not, as has perhaps been characterized, some [teenage] … Curiosity – some perhaps strange, motivated and self-directed reflections. I share the opinion expressed by the police that, at least at first glance, he is a very disturbed and troubled young man. [person]. My only reference to the March 15 episode is that perhaps by incarcerating this young man [person] and taking the court’s cautious and conservative approach, it is arguably the case that we prevent another episode similar to those that occurred in Christchurch. “
In convicting the teenager, Ruth took a starting point of four years in prison.
The adolescent’s age was an “important factor.” That, along with his previously flawless record and an early guilty plea, justified a 50 percent discount.
The judge said the teen had already served time in custody and a sentence of intensive supervision was appropriate.
The teenager would be subject to electronic monitoring and a curfew from 9 pm to 7 am They would live in their parents’ home and could not move anywhere without the approval of their probation officer.
Monthly reports on the adolescent’s progress would be requested because “I think this case needs to be watched closely.” That could be extended to three months if things go well.
“I hope I have conveyed to you that, in my opinion, this young man [person] be part of the community of which [they’ve] been extracted. You have to find a balance between [their] age and need for reintegration with what I … see as ongoing risks in this case. “
Ruth said she hoped that the comprehensive services associated with the sentence “would return him to a normal way of life” and that the risk to the community would decrease.
“You (the accused) will only be successful if you agree. This is to help you. If you accept it, I believe the result will be a better life for you. It is in your hands.”
CONCERNS ABOUT ‘TOTAL BLACKOUT’
At a hearing in July where Things and the New Zealand Herald argued that the blanket suppression order should be lifted, the court heard that the teenager had completed the community detention sentence without issue.
Defense attorney Robert Lithgow QC said the adolescent’s rehabilitation was going well: “they are moving forward [their] way into the world, “and revealing the identity of the teenager would derail that.
“Central to this … is this young man [person’s] belief that [they] can move forward in the future. “
He said those involved in the adolescent’s rehabilitation could only work with the adolescent’s continued participation. “If that’s shattered … all we’re going to end up with is another … angry young man [person], of which we already have more than enough, which is very difficult and expensive to administer. “
If the crackdown were lifted and the teenager became a “cause of cause,” his name would forever be on the Internet, Lithgow said.
“In my opinion, we have the clear and present problem in New Zealand that there are people who would have the wrong sense of enthusiasm and interest in all of this and in being a teenager … unwanted notoriety would be a nightmare for both [the teenager] Y [their] family and also for the country “.
The teenager feared that if their identity was known they would be attacked when they left their home, Lithgow said.
Their future employment prospects would also be hampered.
“The family thinks so [the teen] is exposed in the [Tasman] they would almost certainly have to leave the area where they have lived most of their lives. “
Lithgow objected to the publication of all the facts related to the case.
Attorney Steven Zindel argued that the school should not be named as alarmed parents could send their children elsewhere, which would have financial ramifications.
Robert Stewart, performing for Things and the Herald of New Zealand, expressed concern about the time it had taken to argue the repression, despite the fact that the media indicated on several occasions that they had wanted to challenge the provisional order.
It was “very unusual” that there was a “total blackout” of all the facts related to the case.
Stewart said the arguments for permanent name deletion made by Lithgow and Zindel did not meet the required threshold for extreme hardship.
Even if the threshold is reached, “the fundamental and important principles of open justice and freedom of expression will not be exceeded.”
Naming the adolescent meant that people could be informed of the risk they posed and take the necessary steps to avoid it.
All the facts of the case must be released, regardless of whether they are subject to a charge, Stewart said.
“Suppressing any of these issues is contrary to the principle of unjustified and disproportionate openness and limitation of everyone’s right to freedom of expression under New Zealand law.”
Ruth said the suppression orders had been necessary to “preserve the rights to a fair trial in the most unusual case.”
“They were also in place to allow for the prospect of rehabilitation.”
Once all charges were resolved, it was appropriate for them to be reconsidered.
By removing the teen’s name, he said the required extreme hardship test had been met.
“I think it would be inconceivable for this court … not to grant permanent suppression … knowing that all the agencies that have dealt with this young man [person] It is of the opinion .. that [publication] would destabilize the rehabilitation efforts that have been and are being made for this young man [person].
“In my opinion, the matter is serious enough to displace the need for open justice that I freely acknowledge would take priority in normal cases.”
That suppression order would be “thwarted” if the name of the school was not kept secret, Ruth said.
It suppressed the evidence beyond the abstract made available for publication.
An appeal against parts of the judge’s ruling was heard on October 14 in Wellington High Court.
Stewart, again performing for Things and the New Zealand Herald, argued that there was no valid reason to suppress the evidence collected as part of the police investigation.
In a ruling issued Friday, Judge Francis Cooke dismissed the media appeal, but allowed for some alterations to what could be used in the reports.
PUBLIC COMPLAINTS HELPED TO ‘DECREASE THE THREAT’
Acting Deputy Commissioner Mike Johnson, who oversees serious and organized crime, said complaints received from the public about the teenager in 2018 and 2019 were “taken very seriously and responded to accordingly.”
That information prompted an investigation, which led to the teenager’s property registration.
“It was thanks to the work of several members of the investigative staff that it allowed the police to make an arrest and defuse any threats.”
Johnson said the case highlighted the “significant value” of the information provided by the public.
He urged parents and caregivers to closely monitor youth online activity and report their concerns immediately.
The case is understood to have attracted the attention of the secret police National Security Investigation Team, which works closely with the Security and Intelligence Service.
