Bedroom gunpowder teen admits threats to bomb college

A teenager who threatened to blow up his college with homemade explosives and kill fellow students pleaded guilty to charges this week.

Police raided the home of Jaggar Strang, 18, in September after students told a safeguarding officer he had threatened to bomb Stafford College using gunpowder.

Officers uncovered a “black powder/gunpowder” and thermite, a pyrotechnic that burns at 2,200 degrees celsius and can melt steel.

Staffordshire Police said officers also found “concerning material” on his phone including a manifesto, internet searches relating to “notorious mass killers”, and data showing he had watched YouTube tutorials on how to make gunpowder and improvised detonators.

They also found a blow pipe, which can be used to direct air or gas onto a flame to increase heat, and containers filled with powdered aluminium, activated charcoal, copper oxide, iron oxide and magnesium ribbon.

On Wednesday as his trial at Leicester Crown Court was due to start, Strang pleaded guilty to charges including possession of an explosive substance, possession of information likely to be useful for terrorist purposes, and making a threat to kill his peers at college.

He also admitted threatening to destroy or damage property, and possession of a prohibited weapon in a private place.

ITV News reported that prosecutors accepted his last-minute guilty pleas on the basis that he had “no intention to build a bomb”.

He has been in custody since his arrest in September and is due to be sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court on June 29.

Evidence released by the police after his guilty pleas suggests officers also received reports of the teenager sharing videos of cats being tortured.

Staffordshire Police Detective Inspector Dave Rowlands said: “This was a deeply concerning case involving threats that understandably caused significant alarm to the students that Strang talked to and staff at the college.

“Thanks to the vigilance of the college’s students and staff and the swift actions of our officers, we were able to intervene quickly and prevent any potential harm.”

Craig Hodgson, principal of Newcastle and Stafford Colleges Group (NSCG), said the safety and wellbeing of students and staff is “our absolute priority”.

He added: “We worked closely with Staffordshire Police to ensure these concerns were escalated swiftly and effectively, following our established safeguarding and Prevent protocols.

“We take any threat to our college community with the utmost seriousness, and I wish to express my sincere thanks to the students who first raised the alarm and to the staff who acted with immediate professionalism.

“The swift intervention allowed the authorities to take immediate action, and we are thankful for the prompt, professional response from Staffordshire Police”.

NSCG is an FE college group with campuses in Newcastle-under-Lyme and Stafford.

At the time of its Ofsted inspection in October 2024, which resulted in an ‘outstanding’ grade for overall effectiveness, the college had more than 6,000 learners aged 16 to 18, around 1,000 apprentices and 535 adult students.

WATCH: Stang’s arrest footage from police cam