Welsh Teenager with Nazi Materials Planned College Shooting, Court Hears
Theodore Hopes, an 18-year-old from Llandrindod Wells, made explicit threats to kill fellow students at his college and was found with a nine-page document titled 'Mass Murderer' on his phone, a court has revealed. The sentencing hearing at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court detailed how Hopes performed Nazi salutes while watching Hitler speeches and possessed an English translation of Mein Kampf, alongside other disturbing materials.
Police Intervention and Disturbing Discoveries
On December 8 last year, police visited Hopes at his father's home in Llandrindod Wells, where they confiscated a firearm that turned out to be a legally-owned air rifle. Armed officers attended the property, and Hopes was taken to Brecon police station. During the investigation, officers seized multiple belongings and uncovered a comment from Hopes about "planning a school shooting."
Upon arrival at the police station, Hopes was treated for a minor cut to his hand, sustained after he punched an oven. When questioned about self-harm and whether he had previously attempted suicide, he responded with chilling statements. "I can't. They have taken my gun away from me but I can still go in and stab people," he told authorities, according to reports from Wales Online.
Court Proceedings and Manifesto Details
Prosecutor Jason Howells informed the court that Hopes claimed he "dreamed about killing people" and expressed a desire to enter Newtown College, where he was a student, to "shoot people." When asked who he wanted to target, he provided a name but offered no further details. In response to questions about suicide, he replied, "Suicide by police."
A custody healthcare practitioner described Hopes as speaking in a "calm, cold, and matter of fact way" and appearing "dead behind the eyes." During his police interview, Hopes denied having any plans for a school shooting and claimed no memory of the earlier conversation, though he admitted visiting the college but insisted he bore no ill will.
A search of Hopes' mobile phone revealed the nine-page document titled 'Theo Hopes Mass Murderer,' addressed to political parties, media organisations, and the Dyfed-Powys Police and Crime Commissioner. It included a subheading reading, "Manifesto, the end of Theo Hopes." Recorder Paul Lewis KC stated that Hopes intended for the document to be sent out after committing a serious crime and his own death.
Additional Disturbing Materials and Sentencing
Further items found on the phone included photographs of Samurai swords, footage of Hopes watching Adolf Hitler videos while performing a Nazi salute, visits to gun and air rifle websites, sites selling human skulls and bones, research into pipe bombs, mass suicides, secondary school attacks, terrorist attacks, and press coverage of school knife attacks.
Hopes, of Broadway House, Llandrindod Wells, pleaded guilty to making threats to kill and had no previous convictions. In mitigation, Martha Smith-Higgins described her client as "remorseful" and explained that he accessed the material due to isolation stemming from mental health difficulties and substance misuse. Two referrals had been made to Prevent to stop him from viewing such content, and he has been prescribed medication.
Recorder Lewis noted that Hopes' attitudes were characterised as "misogynistic and far right," adding, "You have developed troubling and potentially dangerous thoughts and ideas. You are a young man with troubled attitudes and beliefs. You have a fascination with weapons, bombs, school attacks, and Nazi materials."
Considering that Hopes had already spent three and a half months in custody, the judge concluded that probation supervision was the most effective approach. Hopes received a two-year community order with a 30-day rehabilitation activity requirement and was placed under a prohibited activity requirement for 12 months, requiring his mobile phone and sim card to be monitored by probation services.
