A teenager who plotted a Southport copycat attack told friends he wanted to bomb an Oasis gig and researched local dance schools to target, a court has heard.
McKenzie Morgan, who recently turned 18, was sentenced to 14 months’ detention for possession of information likely to be useful to a terrorist.
The teenager admitted having the “Al Qaeda Training Manual” – the same document used by violence-obsessed Southport attacker Axel Rudakubana, who murdered three girls in a mass stabbing at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in the Merseyside town in 2024.
Morgan, from Cwmbran in south Wales, told friends he wanted to target the Oasis concert at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff on 4 July last year and had a note on his phone about a dance school and playground near his home.
The Old Bailey heard Morgan, who has autism spectrum disorder, praised Rudakubana in Snapchat messages between 7 April and 2 June last year, when he was still 17.
He shared images of the killer, saying that he wanted to engage in a similar terrorist-style attack and was trying to make the deadly poison ricin, prosecutor Corinne Bramwell told the court.
One of the people on Snapchat reported Morgan to police, and he was also referred to children’s mental health services due to his mother’s concerns.
He went on to tell a psychiatric nurse on 2 June that he wanted to hurt others and planned to commit a Rudakubana-style attack, Ms Bramwell said.
Morgan said he had been researching bombs and poison and how to stab and kill people, having enjoyed watching terrorist attacks.
He was arrested later the same day, and officers seized his mobile phone, on which the terrorist manual was found.
Further examination revealed that last April, Morgan had sent a message asking “how to burn people’s faces”. He had stated: “In my head, I now have the motivation to go ahead with some sort of attack.”
He also sent a picture of a 15cm kitchen knife advertised on Amazon to another Snapchat user with the question: “Would this work?”
Records revealed he had gone on to attempt to buy the knife, without success, the court heard.
In a police interview, he told officers he was bored and had just “intended to shock”. He stated he was unhappy, had been bullied at school and had been experiencing suicidal thoughts.
Previously, Morgan could not be identified because of his age, but the restriction was lifted on his 18th birthday.
Mitigating, Michael Stradling pointed out that Morgan has no history of violence and asserted the greater risk was of self-harm or the defendant suffering harm at the hands of others.
The barrister said: “I asked him what he wants to say and what I would describe as a true, heartfelt manner, he said that he wanted you to know that he is very sorry.”
Sentencing Morgan to 14 months in youth detention on Friday, Judge Sarah Whitehouse KC said that although he held no political, religious or racial ideology, his motivation appeared to be to “emulate” the Southport attack.
She said he must serve a further year on licence after his release and also imposed a Criminal Behaviour Order preventing him from attending places where children gather, such as youth classes, or from trying to buy knives.
The judge said Morgan was a danger to himself and “vulnerable to being bullied, groomed and radicalised”.
Speaking after the case, detective superintendent Andrew Williams, of Counter Terrorism Policing Wales, said: “Mr Morgan was not born bad. He didn’t come into the world wanting to be a terrorist or aspiring to one day kill people, let alone children.
“As a teenager himself when he committed the offence, he was vulnerable to the malign influences that prey on our young people in today’s online world.
“The fact that he was heavily influenced by the perpetrator of one of the most horrific attacks this country has seen in recent times, is a terrifying indictment of the abhorrent commentary, hateful opinion and violent imagery that too many of our young people are exposed to via the myriad of online sites, chat forums, and gaming and social media platforms.”
He said the shocking case highlights the need for society to “get a grip” on this issue and “finally stop our young people being exploited in this way.”
Bethan David, of the CPS, said the conviction shows their determination to prosecute those who possess terrorist material without reasonable excuse.
“We take the mental health and welfare of young defendants extremely seriously, but where the evidence shows they are fit to stand trial and the public interest is clear, we will pursue prosecution,” she added.
“In this case, while the defendant expressed violent fantasies online, there was no evidence of a real plot or attempt to carry out an attack."
