Teenager jailed for threats and explosives related to school attack

By the Editorial Team · Tuesday, June 30, 2026

Seventeen-year-old Jagger Strang was sentenced to nearly four years in prison after admitting to possessing explosives and making threats to attack his school with a pressure cooker bomb. The case highlights the seriousness of his planned violent actions and the importance of student vigilance, as his arrest followed reports by concerned classmates and a police search uncovering bomb-making materials.

A 17-year-old student has been sentenced to nearly four years in prison for possessing explosives and making threats to attack his school. Jagger Strang, who was studying at Stafford College, admitted to planning to use a pressure cooker bomb to carry out a violent attack.

Strang boasted to three fellow students that he “idolised” serial killers and shared with them a “bingo card” featuring mass murderers, alongside images of homemade weapons and videos depicting himself igniting chemicals and torturing animals. Concerned by his behavior, the students reported him to school authorities. As a result, Strang’s classes were suspended and police were alerted.

A police search of Strang’s home on September 9, 2025, uncovered gunpowder and thermite explosives. Investigators also found he had accessed instructional videos on bomb-making via YouTube. Further examination revealed that two days prior to his arrest, Strang researched Axel Rudakubana, the perpetrator of the Southport killings, along with other serial killers and mass school stabbings. He also looked up information on constructing pressure cooker bombs. Just 20 minutes before being detained, Strang messaged an online contact saying he was “fine-tuning” his gunpowder.

Authorities found a document labeled “manifesto” on his phone, in which Strang expressed intentions to carry out “something big,” potentially involving serial killing or a rampage. During the investigation, Strang stated that repeated bullying had led him to develop an “extreme form of misanthropy.”

Strang pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing explosive substances, two counts of possessing terrorist bomb-making videos, possession of an offensive weapon, making threats to kill peers, and threatening to detonate a bomb. He denied charges related to intending to endanger life, arguing he had no plans to assemble a bomb; those charges were not pursued.

Sentencing Strang to three years and 11 months in custody, Mr Justice Wall emphasized that no alternative to imprisonment could be justified given the severity of the offenses.

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