World News

Gun-obsessed Lidl worker who plotted Dunblane-style massacre at his old primary school is jailed for life

A gun-obsessed Lidl worker who plotted Dunblane-style massacre at his old primary school has been jailed for life.

‘Model’ Lidl employee Reed Wischhusen, 32, was arrested by police after charging at them with a pistol at his home in the sleepy Somerset village of Wick St Lawrence in November 2022.

A search of his house revealed an ‘armoury’ of firearms, explosives and thousands of rounds of ammunition in his shed – as well as a chilling document on his computer setting out his ‘revenge’ plan.

Driven by a ‘macabre interest’ in killers such as Raoul Moat and Thomas Hamilton – who shot dead 16 pupils and a teacher at a school in Dunblane, Scotland, in 1996 – Wischhusen intended to visit carnage on several locations across the West Country.

He has been jailed for life and ordered to serve a minimum of 12 years’ imprisonment by a judge at Bristol Crown Court after being convicted of a string of weapons, ammunition and explosives charges. 

'Model' Lidl employee Reed Wischhusen, 32, (pictured) was arrested by police after charging at them with a pistol at his home in the sleepy Somerset village of Wick St Lawrence in November 2022

'Model' Lidl employee Reed Wischhusen, 32, (pictured) was arrested by police after charging at them with a pistol at his home in the sleepy Somerset village of Wick St Lawrence in November 2022

‘Model’ Lidl employee Reed Wischhusen, 32, (pictured) was arrested by police after charging at them with a pistol at his home in the sleepy Somerset village of Wick St Lawrence in November 2022

A search of his house revealed an 'armoury' of firearms, explosives and thousands of rounds of ammunition in his shed - as well as a chilling document on his computer setting out his 'revenge' plan

A search of his house revealed an 'armoury' of firearms, explosives and thousands of rounds of ammunition in his shed - as well as a chilling document on his computer setting out his 'revenge' plan

A search of his house revealed an ‘armoury’ of firearms, explosives and thousands of rounds of ammunition in his shed – as well as a chilling document on his computer setting out his ‘revenge’ plan

Wischhusen smiled eerily at investigators during a police interview, while refusing to comment over his abhorrent plans

Wischhusen smiled eerily at investigators during a police interview, while refusing to comment over his abhorrent plans

Wischhusen smiled eerily at investigators during a police interview, while refusing to comment over his abhorrent plans

His ‘hitman-style attack’ included a kill list of a dozen people, including primary school bullies, teachers he disliked and police staff who had denied him a firearms licence. 

Such was the depth of his grudge, some of the targets on his list could barely remember Wischhusen from school when they were later contacted by police, it can now be revealed. 

The gun nut’s plot involved shooting several targets, disguised in a wig and make-up, before murdering teachers and throwing bombs at his old primary school in Weston-super-Mare and then attacking Avon and Somerset Police headquarters in Bristol. 

‘Revenge on my mind, it’s a powerful motivator,’ Wischhusen’s document began.

But, on November 28 last year, five officers visited Wischhusen’s home after receiving a chance tip-off about him converting blank firearms into lethal weapons.

The warehouse worker excused himself to go to the toilet, moments later sending the officers into panic when they heard the sound of a gun being cocked and fired. 

Wischhusen had unsuccessfully tried to kill himself with a shot to the head only to emerge wielding his pistol and begin running down the stairs at two armed officers, who shot and apprehended him. The officers said they had feared for their life. 

In victim impact statements read to the court, the officers who were confronted by Wischhusen spoke of how traumatic the incident had been for them.

‘I struggle to get past the point of having shot someone,’ one said.

‘I have since been told that a trauma consultant where the male was treated said that the first aid care we gave, as well as a blood transfusion saved his life.’

A colleague said: ‘This whole incident feels like it has scared me and left me distressed.’

Another said they have recurring nightmares and fear they are going to be shot every time they go into a house.

‘The overriding experience from this is how valuable your life is and how soon it can be over,’ they said.

‘This incident makes you realise how fragile life can be. It is something that will never leave me.’

The wannabe killer survived his injuries after four months in hospital and, In October 2023, was found guilty of a string of weapons offences by a jury at Bristol Crown Court. 

Reed Wischhusen, 32, (dressed in a police costume) has been has been jailed for life and ordered to serve a minimum of 12 years’ imprisonment after plotting a Dunblane-style massacre against school bullies and police with an arsenal of DIY firearms built in his shed

Reed Wischhusen, 32, (dressed in a police costume) has been has been jailed for life and ordered to serve a minimum of 12 years’ imprisonment after plotting a Dunblane-style massacre against school bullies and police with an arsenal of DIY firearms built in his shed

Reed Wischhusen, 32, (dressed in a police costume) has been has been jailed for life and ordered to serve a minimum of 12 years’ imprisonment after plotting a Dunblane-style massacre against school bullies and police with an arsenal of DIY firearms built in his shed

The pistol which Reed Wischhusen confronted police with at his home in Wick St Lawrence

The pistol which Reed Wischhusen confronted police with at his home in Wick St Lawrence

The pistol which Reed Wischhusen confronted police with at his home in Wick St Lawrence

Following a trial he was convicted of charges including possessing explosive substances with intent to endanger life, possessing a pistol with intent to endanger life and possessing ammunition with intent to endanger life. 

In mitigation Adam Vaitilingam KC, defending, told the court Wischhusen was of previously good character and ‘some ability’.

‘It was a spur of the moment to take the gun and shoot himself and after that have it used so the officers would shoot him,’ he said.

‘He is a man of good character and a man of some ability and it is shame he was not able to put it into a more creative field having had rejections from jobs he applied for, including the Army.’

Passing sentence, Judge Picton said said Wischhusen was obsessed with firearms and explosives and only a life sentence was appropriate.

‘Your obsessions in this regard are long standing,’ he said.

‘I have do doubt that what you committed to writing in your journals – the evidence about which featured heavily in the trial – represented your true thoughts rather than being fantasy as you set out to persuade the jury.’

During his evidence, Wischhusen had tried to portray himself as a fantasist who was only interested in guns as a hobby and had no intention of trying to use them. He claimed he had run at police with the firearm so they would shoot him dead.

One of his viable guns was an antique bolt-action rifle from the 19th Century, while the pistol he tried to turn on himself was a blank-firing gun he had successfully converted in his dilapidated outhouse, using DIY guides from the internet.

He bizarrely claimed during evidence that he was ‘going to make some mind-control substance and launch it at the police’ using a rocket launcher, but abandoned the plan.

But prosecutors argued that the ‘revenge’ document had outlined his murderous intentions – and said he was ‘building’ the weaponry needed to turn it into a reality.

In it, he wrote that the first phase would be a ‘hitman-style attack’ where he would use a range of disguises to give him a ‘more Arab look’.

He said he begin by using a ‘converted pistol with a silencer’ for the ten named victims.

He then outlined different scenarios for the next phase of his attack.

Pictured: The 'Revenge' document that was seized by police and read out in Bristol Crown Court

Pictured: The 'Revenge' document that was seized by police and read out in Bristol Crown Court

Pictured: The ‘Revenge’ document that was seized by police and read out in Bristol Crown Court

Reed Wischhusen (right) appearing at Bristol Crown Court during one of the hearings of his trial

Reed Wischhusen (right) appearing at Bristol Crown Court during one of the hearings of his trial

Reed Wischhusen (right) appearing at Bristol Crown Court during one of the hearings of his trial

One included a ‘diversion stage’ where he would ‘get back at the school, walk in and shoot a few teachers dead, and throw a pipe bomb or two to stir things up.’

Another scenario he wrote would involve triggering the fire alarm at Avon and Somerset Police HQ and ‘plant pressure-cooker bombs at the fire assembly point and detonate them, then open fire at staff with submachine guns etc’.

He said he would then access the building with a stolen ID before setting up a gas explosion and then committing suicide with the shotgun.

He wrote: ‘Hopefully the gas explosion would destroy a good chunk of the building just like the Oklahoma bombing in 1995 but a very mini version.’

Another scenario he wrote about was to ‘ambush and kill (police) staff sitting outside’ before going ‘room to room shooting at office staff’.

He said he would then open fire out the windows and throw pipe bombs while ‘remotely detonating the pressure-cooker bombs planted around the building’ before taking his own life.

He wrote: ‘This sounds the best one – a Columbine-style attack.’

He also documented the huge arsenal of weapons – including homemade guns and explosives and other equipment – he would use in the attacks.

Pictured: Officers at Wischhusen's Somerset home on November 29 last year

Pictured: Officers at Wischhusen's Somerset home on November 29 last year

Pictured: Officers at Wischhusen’s Somerset home on November 29 last year

In the document, he also wrote: ‘Yes, revenge is on my mind it’s a powerful motivator, be nice to get back at the people who caused me stress and worry over the years it’s been eating away at my brain like cancer.’

The trial heard that alongside his firearms he also stored vast quantities of chemicals that could be used to create ‘IEDs’, a court heard.

Adam Vaitilingam KC, defending, tried to present Wischhusen’s murderous plot as the ‘fantasies of a man who, frankly, did not have much else going on’.

Yet jurors also heard that Wischhusen had been taking the homemade pistol to work in his jacket pocket for months, fully loaded.

Troublingly, he had even managed to get hold of an Avon and Somerset Police badge and took a picture of himself wearing a police uniform and posing with a gun.

Jonathan Rees KC, prosecuting, said Wischhusen ‘fantasised about having his own gun for a long time and he made that fantasy a reality’.

‘He fantasised about having a working sub-machine gun capable of lethal force for a long time – and he made that a reality,’ he continued.

‘He fantasised about having a working automatic handgun and he made that a reality – capable of lethal force and with live ammunition to go with it.

‘Reed Wischhusen’s fantasises are so inherently dangerous. Indulging in them itself was dangerous and put other people’s lives in danger.’

Read More: World News | Entertainment News | Celeb News
247

Related posts

Why the United Auto Workers Union Is Poised to Strike

BBC Brk News

Leading in early results, Machado claims win in Venezuelan opposition’s presidential primary

BBC Brk News

Ursula von der Leyen warns EU states ‘should be prepared for risks of war’ and need to ‘urgently’ rebuild their armed forces – after Macron refused to rule out sending troops to Ukraine

BBC Brk News

Leave a Comment