A South Sudanese asylum seeker has been sentenced to prison for two years after arriving at a school carrying an arsenal of weapons and containers of petrol in what prosecutors described as a plan to start a fire.
Both Douk Deng, 21, was carrying a hatchet, a hammer and a seven-inch kitchen knife when he was stopped by police.
The alarming incident came after the South Sudanese man had been refused asylum three times and ‘become extremely frustrated in relation to his immigration status’, a court heard.
Manchester’s Minshull Street Crown Court heard how officers were called to the Edgar Wood Academy in Middleton, Greater Manchester, on August 8, last year, after a report that a man was acting suspiciously outside.
The secondary school, which was closed for the summer holiday, wasn’t due to reopen until the following month but prosecutors believe he intended to set the building on fire.
Brian Berylne, prosecuting, said a workman had spotted Deng carrying a petrol can, and he had a hammer tucked in the belt of his trousers.
Deng, married with at least one child in his homeland, then walked towards the back of the building, Mr Berylne said, before the workman ‘shouted for him to leave’.
Police arrested him as he walked away from the school.
Officers seized the petrol can, which contained half a litre of petrol, along with the hammer, a hatchet and a kitchen knife, the court heard.
Mr Berlyne said: ‘It’s the Crown’s case that he must have intended to set fire to the school premises.’
The court heard it was the second school he visited in as many days.
The day before, Deng had gone to the nearby Holy Family Roman Catholic and Church of England College, when he walked towards the entrance, looked through windows and hung around in the foyer.
When he was confronted by a builder, he pointed at the school’s crest and said: ‘Baby.’
Deng became ‘irritated’ and wrecked an intercom, Mr Berlyne said, and left after the builder contacted police.
The asylum seeker then walked to a nearby business park, where he was spotted throwing two plant pots on the floor.
Deng, who identified himself as South Sudanese, pleaded guilty to seven charges at an earlier hearing.
They include two charges of possessing an offensive weapon in a public place, possessing an offensive weapon on school premises, possession of a bladed article on school premises, and two counts of criminal damage.
Deng, of Heywood, Greater Manchester, also pleaded guilty to having an article with intent to destroy or damage property.
Sarah Haque, defending, said he’d not intended to cause ‘harm’ to anyone and had become frustrated after arriving in the UK and being placed in a HMO with fellow asylum seekers who he believed had received more assistance than he had.
He’d fled his home country in ‘dramatic circumstances’, found himself in a foreign country and wanted to work to support his wife and children, Ms Haque said.
She added: ‘He believed nobody was listening to him or helping him.
‘His intention was to create a scene for attention in order to try to obtain some kind of help.’
Ms Haque said Deng believed the school was a hospital or a company building and she described his actions as ‘bizarre and not the act of a person with a carefully considered plan’.
Ms Haque added: ‘The defence would say he wanted attention and was in crisis and wasn’t motivated by hostility towards teachers, children or others.’
Jailing him for two years, Judge Bernadette Baxter also described the circumstances of the offending as ‘bizarre’.
She acknowledged that Deng had had a ‘difficult life’ and there was ‘no doubt’ he’d suffered trauma.
But she also noted that a psychiatric report had identified no mental health condition.
She added: ‘I have no power to order the Home Office to do anything but in my judgement, your circumstances as a failed asylum seeker, who has been in this custody for the best part a year, the Home Office should be doing something rather than nothing to deal with your status in this country.’
Chief Superintendent Helen Caldbeck, Greater Manchester Police District Commander for Rochdale, said: ‘I’m incredibly proud of the officers’ response to this incident.
‘They were professional and brave in tackling a suspicious man armed with weapons and immediately confronted Deng, to keep the public safe.
‘We have thoroughly investigated Deng and cannot find a clear indication of his motive or intention on that day.
‘Thankfully no one was close to coming to harm, but this was nevertheless a disturbing incident.
‘I thank all officers and investigators on this case who have ensured that the appropriate action has been taken and swift justice has been served.’