A man who worked in a warehouse and had an obsession with mass killings has been sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 12 years after being convicted of planning “revenge” attacks at his former school, a police headquarters, and his place of work.
Reed Wischhusen’s targets included former classmates whom he believed had bullied him, colleagues who mocked him, and Avon and Somerset police officers after the force refused him a firearms licence.
At the age of 32, Wischhusen had built up an impressive collection of weapons at his residence. He lived in a simple semi-detached house with his father in the small town of Wick St Lawrence, located near Weston-super-Mare.
He had transformed an unloaded firearm into one that could shoot real ammunition, possessed a functional 19th-century rifle, and was constructing a submachine gun. He also had the necessary materials to create makeshift bombs, suppressors for firearms, a complete police uniform, and protective bulletproof vests and handcuffs.
After receiving a tip, two armed officers went to his residence. Upon arriving, Wischhusen brandished a handgun at the police and was subsequently shot.
The prosecutors at Bristol Crown Court alleged that Wischhusen had a morbid fascination with Thomas Hamilton, the perpetrator of the Dunblane massacre, as well as other mass murderers in the United States.
He maintained that his written “revenge” plan was just a figment of his imagination and that he was merely interested in firearms and explosives. He stated that his descent with a gun was actually a suicide attempt, as he hoped the police would fatally shoot him.
The jury convicted him of possessing an explosive substance with the intention to put lives in danger, possessing a firearm with the intention to endanger lives, possessing ammunition with the intention to endanger lives, and possessing a prohibited firearm without a proper certificate.
More details soon …
Source: theguardian.com
