Teenager detained for 12 years minimum for attempted murder at private Blundell’s school in Devon

A teenager who attacked two sleeping students and a teacher with hammers at a private school in Devon has been sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 12 years after being found guilty of attempted murder.

The 17-year-old, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was armed with three claw hammers and waited for the two boys to be asleep before attacking them at Blundell’s school in Tiverton, Exeter crown court heard.

He was wearing just his boxer shorts and used weapons he had collected to prepare for a “zombie apocalypse”, the court was told.

  • @anonymous111
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    54 hours ago

    British Private Schools:

    Fagging was a traditional practice in British public schools and also at many other boarding schools, whereby younger pupils were required to act as personal servants to the eldest boys.[1][2][3] Although probably originating earlier, the first accounts of fagging appeared in the late 17th century.[4]: 23  Fagging sometimes involved physical abuse[4]: 23–25  and/or sexual abuse.[5] Although lessening in severity over the centuries, the practice continued in some institutions until the end of the 20th century.[4]: 23–25

    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fagging

  • @Tabula_stercore
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    77 hours ago

    This article really requires a “white boy” before all the brits start burning hotels with refugees again

    • @3ntranced
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      64 hours ago

      It’s a private school, so safe to assume there is a 0% refugee student body.

  • @[email protected]
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    4216 hours ago

    So rich kid with (probably) autism attacks two other rich kids in their…. Cabins (?) while wearing only his underwear with hammers and also a teacher that came to help. He claims he was sleepwalking. Badly injures them, gets minimum 12-life for the attack.

    Every part of that story is wild.

    • Nougat
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      2016 hours ago

      The judge said the boy experiences an autism spectrum disorder …

      That’s not for a judge to determine.

      Edit: While the above statement remains true, reporting elsewhere shows:

      Kerim Fuad KC, defending, told the court the defendant had also been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder …

      https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c781p92vdyko

      Sloppy journalism from The Guardian here.

      • @then_three_more
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        2315 hours ago

        What makes you think that’s not the judge just reading a medical professional’s opinion?

      • @[email protected]
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        615 hours ago

        Did the judge actually determine it, or did the judge just relay information given to them by someone else?

      • @InverseParallax
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        13 hours ago

        Sloppy journalism from The Guardian here.

        Aww, bless :)

    • @[email protected]
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      113 hours ago

      wearing only his underwear with hammers

      .

      and also a teacher that came to help.

      Was the teacher also part of the underwear that the boy was wearing?

    • Applesauce
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      612 hours ago

      But what does that mean

    • @Dearth
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      -1715 hours ago

      Ableism is the ugliest -ism

      • @ShittyBeatlesFCPres
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        1913 hours ago

        It’s not ableism. He beat sleeping people with hammers. He could have zero disabilities and he’d still be a violent loon. No other autistic people are going around hitting people with hammers.

        • @[email protected]
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          11 hours ago

          the ableist part is saying you must be crazy if you do a violent thing, when reality shows the mentally ill are far far more likely to be a victim than the perp in a violent crime.

          edit: also, ya know, this whole thread of ‘probably autistic’ speculation.

          • @eatthecake
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            15 hours ago

            The article says he was collecting weapons for a zombie apocalypse, in this case crazy seems the most likely explanation. Pointing this out is not at all the same as saying you must be crazy if you do something violent.

          • AwesomeLowlander
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            79 hours ago

            The autistic part is literally in the article and was brought up during the defense

  • @ohwhatfollyisman
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    112 hours ago

    given his choice of weapon, i’m surprised he didn’t “stop!”.

  • @[email protected]
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    -113 hours ago

    Wearing boxer shorts?

    Where were his Thomas The Tank Engine pyjamas?!

    Seriously though; while the boys at state school were a lot harder, if a posh kid finally lost it it was always something extremely psychotic like this.