British Teen Who Killed Family and Tried to Become the 'Worst School Shooter'

A British Teenager Planned a School Shooting
Killed His Mother and Siblings Who Woke Up Early; Neighbor Alerted Police
"Aspired to Kill More Than Sandy Hook... Sought Notoriety"

A British teenager who planned a school shooting and brutally murdered three family members was sentenced to a heavy prison term. On the 19th (local time), the BBC reported, "The London Luton Crown Court sentenced Nicholas Prosper (19), who was charged with murdering his family and planning to kill young students at an elementary school, to a minimum of 49 years in prison."

Nicholas Prosper. Photo by AFP Yonhap News

Prosper used an illegally purchased shotgun and a knife in the early morning of September 13 last year to kill his mother Juliana Falcon (48), younger brother Kyle (16), and younger sister Giselle (13). He had planned to go to the elementary school he attended and kill a class of about 30 children and two teachers. However, when his mother woke up early and tried to stop him, he killed her first, and then also killed his two siblings who were asleep, according to the investigation.

Police who responded to a neighbor's report arrested Prosper near his home. During the police investigation, he reportedly stated that his goal was to kill more people than the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in the United States, where 26 people died. The day he planned the crime was the so-called "Friday the 13th," and Prosper is said to have personally designed an outfit mixed with black and yellow colors.

It is known that he initially tried and failed to purchase a gun before the crime. Afterwards, he contacted another seller on a gun sales website, pretending to work for a charity, and paid ?700 (about 1.3 million KRW) to buy a shotgun and 100 rounds of ammunition.

At the trial that day, Judge Bobby Cheema-Grubb said, "The defendant had ambitions to gain notoriety. He wanted to become the most famous school shooter of the 21st century," but added, "Although this case is very shocking, considering that Prosper was 18 at the time of the crime and that the school shooting plan was not carried out, he will not be sentenced to life imprisonment without parole."