Lidl worker ‘inspired by Dunblane killer’ plotted revenge on bullies and police

A gunman who was accused of planning a mass shooting is facing a lengthy jail sentence after being convicted of a string of weapons, ammunition and explosives charges.

Reed Wischhusen, 32, had a “macabre interest” in the Dunblane gunman Thomas Hamilton and Raoul Moat and US mass killers, and had built firearms and explosives to carry out a “hitman-style attack” on his former school.

In the attack he would deliberately target 10 people, as well as shoot dead teachers and attack Avon and Somerset Police headquarters.

The Lidl warehouse worker wrote down his warped plans in a document he dubbed “revenge”, Bristol Crown Court heard.

Wischhusen’s plans were only stopped when uniformed officers visited the home he shared with his father in Wick Road, Wick St Lawrence, Somerset in November last year, having received a tip-off about weapons.

During the search of his home, Wischhusen attempted to shoot himself in the head with a concealed pistol in his bathroom, before running downstairs with the gun to confront armed officers.

Fearing they were going to be killed, the defendant was shot twice by officers and he spent several months recovering in hospital.

Following a 10-day trial, a jury found the defendant guilty of having an explosive substance with intent to endanger life, possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life, possessing ammunition with intent to endanger life and possessing a prohibited firearm without a certificate.

Judge Martin Picton had earlier directed the jury to find the defendant guilty of an eighth charge of having an explosive substance.

The judge ordered pre-sentence reports and remanded Wischhusen into custody until he is sentenced on December 15.

“In terms of where we go from here, I would not be prepared to sentence without a pre-sentence report and I will order one and it will have to look at the issue of dangerousness,” the judge said.

“I think there should also be a psychiatric report because there are so many troubling features about the defendant’s conduct.”

“Yes, revenge is on my mind it’s a powerful motivator, be nice to get back at the people who caused me stress and worry over the years it’s been eating away at my brain like cancer,” he wrote in an introduction.

Phase one was to kill 10 people, including ex-classmates, teachers and police staff, using a converted pistol with a silencer, while wearing disguised clothing and a wig.

He planned to spare two police staff so they would feel “survivor’s guilt”, citing Dunblane killer Hamilton as inspiration.

He would then walk into his old school, Priory School in Worle, to shoot and kill teachers and throw pipe bombs before evading police.

The plan would culminate in an attack on Avon and Somerset Police’s headquarters, where he would either plant and detonate pressure cooker bombs before opening fire on staff with sub-machine guns or ambush officers and enter the building to let off explosives.

After this he planned to kill himself, the court was told.

“But I’ve been like this way before I became an NRA member.

“But granted homemade guns don’t count it be brilliant it get every bit of anti-gun democrat milf going. That alone would be so cathartic!

“It has to happen, regardless.”

Wischhusen denied the plot and said it was all “fantasy” and he never had any intention of harming anyone.

Describing his writings, he told jurors: “It was a psychological release and feelings like I am getting back at people.

“I got power over them by writing it down.”

Detective Chief Inspector Simon Dewfall, who led the investigation, said: “Wischhusen can expect to serve a considerable amount of time in prison following the verdicts and I hope this provides reassurance to anyone concerned about his actions and plans.”

Andrew Pritchard, from the Crown Prosecution Service South West, said: “It is clear Wischhusen took a macabre interest in mass shootings and, had he not been stopped, had the means to enact his deadly plan with terrible consequences.

“His intention was to send a brutal and violent message to those he felt had wronged him throughout his life, from school bullies, to police staff who had refused him firearms licences, to his bosses at work.

“Throughout this trial, he attempted to paint the picture that he was a tinkerer with a vague interest in weapons and explosives.

“This picture was rejected by the jury and I would like to take the opportunity to thank the prosecution team’s efforts in unpicking Wischhusen’s account.”