Scots teen who planned 'Columbine style' mass school shooting to be sentenced
A Scots teenager who fantasised about carrying out a mass shooting at his own school is due to be sentenced at the High Court in Glasgow.
Felix Winter, now 18, from Edinburgh, repeatedly spoke about launching a deadly attack at his secondary school, referring to the planned massacre as "Doomsday" and describing how he would one day "clear it out".
The court previously heard that Winter "idolised" the two gunmen responsible for the 1999 Columbine High School shooting in Colorado, which left 12 students and a teacher dead.
A police investigation was launched in summer 2023 after a photograph circulated on social media showing Winter in full combat gear, holding an imitation firearm on school grounds. The image caused widespread panic among pupils and parents.
At the time, Winter had already been referred to the UK's anti-terrorism Prevent programme, designed to stop individuals from becoming radicalised. He was also found to hold racist and pro-Nazi views.
Winter pleaded guilty to a breach of the peace and an offence under the Terrorism Act, with his crimes taking place between June 2022 and July 2023.
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Defence KC Shelagh McCall told the court in March that a psychological assessment found a 'serious link' between Winter's autism and his disturbing behaviour. She argued that his actions were driven more by his condition than by extremist ideology.
Ms McCall said her client had made 'marked improvements' since the incidents and had shown remorse.
'He has expressed regret and recognises that he didn't previously appreciate how his behaviour was impacting others,' she said. 'He accepts that, given his guilty plea and his previous comments about school shootings, turning up to school in that outfit would understandably cause alarm—but this was not his intention.'
Felix Winter is due to be sentenced at the High Court in Glasgow today, July 30.
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