Teen who saw Adolf Hitler and Anders Brevik as 'inspirations' planned mass murder by setting fire to mosque
A 17-year-old boy who had "developed sympathies" with the Nazi party and planned a mass murder by setting a mosque on fire has pleaded guilty to terrorism charges.
Listen to this article
The teenager - who was 16 at the time - was arrested outside Inverclyde Muslim Centre in Greenock, Scotland, back in January after police caught him with an airgun and aerosol cans.
The boy - who cannot be named due to his age - was carrying a rucksack containing an airgun which he planned to use to keep worshippers inside the building after he set it on fire.
The High Court in Glasgow heard the autistic teen had been radicalised through social media since the age of 13.
A list of "inspirations" found on his phone by police included Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini and Norwegian neo-Nazi terrorist Anders Brevik.
A search of his home revealed a copy of Mein Kampf, the Quran, airsoft weapons, knives and instructions and ingredients to make explosives. A German-manufactured air pistol and amunition was recovered.
Earlier today, the teen pleaded guilty to a charge under the Terrorism Act and possession of documents likely to be useful to a person preparing an act of terrorism.
The court heard he initially wanted to plant bombs at his school in December last year, before later deciding to target the mosque instead.
He had told the mosque's Imam he wanted to become a Muslim in order to access the building and plan his attack.
He had spoken to him online and was provided with Islamic reading materials.
Read more: Met Police release footage as more than 1,000 arrests made using live facial recognition technology
On the morning of 23 January, the boy left his home dressed in black with a camouflage rucksack, which worried his mum.
He messaged friends: "Today, I choose what my life was and will be."
However, he was unable to enter Inverclyde Muslim Centre as the door was locked.
Police officers, acting on intelligence reports, were waiting for him at the mosque.
Prosecutor Greg Farrell said the boy wanted to gain access the building and use aerosol cans and lighters to set it on fire.
Mr Farrell said: "The boy went as far as to take part in prayer with the congregation of the Islamic centre.
"He was trusted to be left alone in the centre and he took several videos wandering the corridors of the building."
Tony Lenehan KC, defending, said: "He was a 16-year-old isolated vulnerable young man, who had a wholesale world view of what was on the internet rather than personal experience."
Judge Lord Arthurson deferred sentencing until July.
The boy was remanded in custody.