A teenager who threatened to kill classmates and had a stash of material capable of making explosives has been jailed for three years and eleven months.

Jagger Strang, 18, pleaded guilty to six offences including possessing explosive substances, terrorism-related material, and making threats to kill. He was sentenced today at Birmingham Crown Court.

Frank Ferguson, Chief Crown Prosecutor of the Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, said: “Jagger Strang demonstrated a disturbing fixation with violence, supported by the material recovered from his devices and the threats he made to others.

“This case was not prosecuted on the basis of terrorist motivation or ideological intent.

“However, his actions posed a very serious risk to those around him and required a robust response.

“Today’s sentencing reflects the seriousness of these offences.”

Building the case

After moving from South Africa to the UK with his parents, Strang is said to have transformed from a ‘nice kid’ to a teenager obsessed with violence.

Strang was arrested after it was reported he had videos of himself torturing cats and he had told people at his college that he was carrying knives and that he had a plan to blow up the college.

He had shown a classmate photos of homemade weapons and discussed an attack on their college, alongside sharing homemade videos of him lighting substances in his garden and kitchen.

The next day they reported Strang to the college, who made the decision to end early to safeguard pupils and contact the police. He was arrested later that day.

Search of his devices led to the discovery of a manifesto, written by Strang in 2025, which said ‘I am writing this before I do something big something violent maybe serial killing maybe a rampage.’ It went on to describe his desire to be like famous serial killers including the Sandy Hook school shooter.

Strang had told classmates that all he needed to build a bomb was a pressure cooker, at this point he had been testing making explosive powders and had the ingredients capable of making up to 1.3kg of Thermite and 320g of gunpowder.

Searches of the home he was living in also revealed a blowpipe which he had made and tested for accuracy.

His digital devices showed searches for how to make explosives, a ‘bingo card’ of serial killers he admired and messages describing how he was angry with his life and how he worshipped serial killers.

While he had a disturbing mindset, it was not submitted to the court that Strang’s actions were motivated or connected to terrorism.

Further messages showed Strang comparing himself to these killers.

On 6 May, he pleaded guilty on the first day of his trial to six counts including possessing an explosive substance and making threats to kill.