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Lloyd Gunton locked up for Bieber terror plot
Image copyrightHANDOUT
A 17-year-old boy who was "hours away from committing an act of atrocity" in Cardiff has been given a life sentence and must serve 11 years.
Lloyd Gunton was arrested on the day of a Justin Bieber concert on 30 June, Birmingham Crown Court heard.
The jury heard he had plotted to commit mass murder in an Islamic State-inspired vehicle attack.
He had researched the security details of the concert as well as uploaded terror-related social media posts.
Gunton, from Llantrisant, south Wales was arrested after he uploaded social media content to photo-sharing social media site Instagram in late June 2017 which promoted jihad and supported Al-Qaeda.
He had published images of terrorists, as well as pictures of the so-called Islamic State flag, and photos encouraging a terrorist attack in Cardiff.
Police found the password for the account was "truck attack".
One post read: "May Allah bring terrorism to Cardiff on 30th June."
He had researched how to carry out a vehicle ramming attack and how to stab and kill and had also looked into the security arrangements of the Justin Bieber concert in Cardiff's Principality Stadium.
His internet history included searches for "Isis beheading video", "how to create a terror attack" and "what does getting shot feel like".
When arrested, the teenager was found with a gutting knife and a hammer in his school rucksack, and the "martyrdom letter" said he was a "soldier of the Islamic state" and "more attacks will follow".
He was found guilty of one charge of engaging in the preparation of a terrorist act, two charges of encouraging terrorism, and a further two charges of possessing terrorist information and given a life sentence at Birmingham Crown Court for planning a so-called Islamic State-inspired vehicle attack in Cardiff.
An order banning his identification was lifted by the court.
Judge Mark Wall QC told the former A-level student: "At the time of your arrest you were within hours of committing an act of atrocity on the streets of Cardiff.
"It is not possible to estimate how many people would have been murdered or seriously injured by your actions as the attack was foiled before you could undertake it.
"I am sure that you planned not just the killing of one person but rather mass murder."
Image copyrightCROWN PROSECUTION SERVICE
- 02 March 2018
- Wales
Image copyrightHANDOUT
A 17-year-old boy who was "hours away from committing an act of atrocity" in Cardiff has been given a life sentence and must serve 11 years.
Lloyd Gunton was arrested on the day of a Justin Bieber concert on 30 June, Birmingham Crown Court heard.
The jury heard he had plotted to commit mass murder in an Islamic State-inspired vehicle attack.
He had researched the security details of the concert as well as uploaded terror-related social media posts.
Gunton, from Llantrisant, south Wales was arrested after he uploaded social media content to photo-sharing social media site Instagram in late June 2017 which promoted jihad and supported Al-Qaeda.
He had published images of terrorists, as well as pictures of the so-called Islamic State flag, and photos encouraging a terrorist attack in Cardiff.
Police found the password for the account was "truck attack".
One post read: "May Allah bring terrorism to Cardiff on 30th June."
He had researched how to carry out a vehicle ramming attack and how to stab and kill and had also looked into the security arrangements of the Justin Bieber concert in Cardiff's Principality Stadium.
His internet history included searches for "Isis beheading video", "how to create a terror attack" and "what does getting shot feel like".
When arrested, the teenager was found with a gutting knife and a hammer in his school rucksack, and the "martyrdom letter" said he was a "soldier of the Islamic state" and "more attacks will follow".
He was found guilty of one charge of engaging in the preparation of a terrorist act, two charges of encouraging terrorism, and a further two charges of possessing terrorist information and given a life sentence at Birmingham Crown Court for planning a so-called Islamic State-inspired vehicle attack in Cardiff.
An order banning his identification was lifted by the court.
Judge Mark Wall QC told the former A-level student: "At the time of your arrest you were within hours of committing an act of atrocity on the streets of Cardiff.
"It is not possible to estimate how many people would have been murdered or seriously injured by your actions as the attack was foiled before you could undertake it.
"I am sure that you planned not just the killing of one person but rather mass murder."
Image copyrightCROWN PROSECUTION SERVICE
