Teen who plotted Southport copycat attack with plans to target Oasis concert and dance school jailed
A teenager who planned a copycat attack in Southport told friends he wanted to bomb an Oasis concert and scouted local dance schools to target, a court heard.
McKenzie Morgan, who recently turned 18, was sentenced to 14 months in prison for possessing information that could be useful to a terrorist.
The teenager admitted possessing an “Al Qaeda Training Manual”, the same document used by Axel Rudakubana, the violence-obsessed Southport attacker who mass stabbed three girls to death at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in the Merseyside town in 2024.
Morgan, from Cwmbran in south Wales, told friends he wanted to target the Oasis concert at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff on July 4 last year and had a note on his phone about a dance school and playground near his home.
The Old Bailey heard Morgan, who has autism spectrum disorder, praised Rudakubana in Snapchat messages between April 7 and June 2 last year, when he was just 17.
Prosecutor Corinne Bramwell told the court the killer shared the images and said he wanted to carry out a similar terror attack and tried to make the deadly poison ricin.
One of the people on Snapchat reported Morgan to the police, who was referred to child mental health services due to her mother’s concerns.
Ms Bramwell said he told a psychiatric nurse on June 2 that he wanted to harm others and planned to carry out a Rudakubana-style attack.
Morgan said he researched bombs, poisons and how to stab and kill people, and enjoyed watching terrorist attacks.
He was arrested later the same day and police officers seized his mobile phone, which contained the terrorist guide.
Further investigation revealed that Morgan had sent a message last April asking how to “burn people’s faces.” He stated: “I now have some motivation in my mind to go on the offensive.”
He also sent a picture of a 6-inch kitchen knife advertised on Amazon to another Snapchat user asking, “Would this work?” sent with the question.
The court heard records revealed the man tried to buy the knife but was unsuccessful.
During a police interview he told officers he was bored and only “intended to shock”. He stated that he was unhappy, was bullied at school, and had suicidal thoughts.
Morgan previously could not be identified due to his age, but the restriction was lifted on his 18th birthday.
Michael Stradling, mitigating, noted Morgan had no history of violence and suggested the greater risk was of self-harm or of the defendant being harmed by others.
The lawyer said: “I asked him what he wanted to say and what I would express sincerely, and he said he wanted you to know that he was very sorry.”
Sentencing Morgan to 14 months youth prison on Friday, Judge Sarah Whitehouse KC said his motivation appeared to be to “mimic” the Southport attack, although he did not hold any political, religious or racial ideology.
He said he must serve another year on license after his release and also imposed a Criminal Behavior Order preventing him from going to places where children congregate, such as youth courses, or trying to buy a knife.
The judge said Morgan posed a danger to himself and was “vulnerable to bullying, grooming and radicalisation”.
Speaking after the case, Chief Superintendent Andrew Williams, of Counter Terrorism Police Wales, said: “Mr Morgan was not born evil. He did not come into the world wanting to be a terrorist or wanting to one day kill people, let alone children.”
“As a teenager himself when he committed the crime, he was vulnerable to the malign influences targeting our young people in today’s online world.
“That it has been so badly affected by the perpetrator of one of the most horrific attacks this country has seen in recent times is a terrible indictment of the vile comments, hateful views and violent images to which so many of our young people are subjected through countless online sites, chat forums, games and social media platforms.”
He said the shocking case highlighted the need for society to “somehow address” this issue and “finally stop this exploitation of our young people”.
Bethan David, of the CPS, said the conviction showed their determination to prosecute those who possess terrorist material without reasonable excuse.
“We take the mental health and welfare of young defendants extremely seriously, but will prosecute where the evidence shows they are fit to stand trial and it is clear in the public interest,” he added.
“In this case, there was no evidence of an actual conspiracy or attempted assault as the defendant expressed his violent fantasies online.”
