By Sam Sherwood of RNZ
An armed man sent a manifesto to schools, the police and the Government promising to “kill everyone” and become the country’s “most deadly mass shooter”, police allege.
The man – who has never had a firearms licence – is accused of possessing a pump-action shotgun with more than 350 shotgun cartridges, “suspected components of an improvised explosive device” and Nazi literature, it can now be revealed.
The 20-year-old faces an array of charges including two representative charges of threatening to kill, three charges of threatening to destroy property and four representative charges of unlawful possession of firearm/explosive.
He had also been charged with three representative charges of possessing an objectionable publication – including the Christchurch terrorist’s manifesto and video – and two charges of failing to carry out obligations to computer search.
The man, who has pleaded not guilty to the charges and has name suppression, is set to go on trial in July. RNZ has been granted access to a court document that details the police allegations against him.
The document accused him of sending a manifesto to various addresses at 1.40am on March 12 last year.
The recipients included Waiuku College, Rutherford College, Pukekohe Police Station, Te Atatū Police Station and Parliament.
Police said the email was titled “This is my manifesto” and stated that another person was the author. It made several claims, including that the author had been “subject to constant bullying and harassment”.
“I have finished making weapons, body armour and suicide vest that will be needed for what I will do to get revenge on bullies.”
He said he had finished 3D printing and assembling a Rogue 9 submachine gun and had about 200-300 armour-piercing bullets, some 3D-printed Glock magazines, a pistol and about 100 bullets.
Police alleged the email said the submachine gun and pistol had been tested and the author knew “they will work for ‘what I am going to do tomorrow morning’”.
“I have body armour so that I will not die in a shootout with police,” the manifesto was alleged to say.
According to the police, the email author claimed to also be in possession of Molotov cocktails and ingredients for explosives. The manifesto also said explosives had been sent in various packages to Waiuku College, Rutherford College, Pukekohe Police Station, Te Atatū Police Station and the Beehive.
“The rest of the ... explosive was in the suicide vest that I will detonate even if defeated in a gun fight and kill everyone around me.
“I will go to Rutherford College or Waiuku College early and ... become New Zealand’s most deadly mass shooter.”
It also promised “a big tragedy” if there were not enough police at the school, and threatened to set schools on fire and take hostages.
“The only way out of this is for a plane to be provided to me and safe passage out of New Zealand.”
Later that morning, police said they received an online form submission to a Police Service Improvement webform link, detailing the manifesto that had been sent.
When the schools became aware of the threat students and staff had already started to arrive for school.
As a result, Waiuku College put the school into lockdown for several hours, before staff and students were sent home.
Rutherford College restricted access to the property and had armed police posted at the school for the duration of the day.
Police said they spoke with a person who had been named as the author of the manifesto. They denied being the author and instead identified the defendant as a possible suspect.
On March 13, police raided two properties associated with the defendant.
At one of the properties, police said they found a 12-gauge pump-action shotgun under his bed, as well as 359 shotgun cartridges.
They said they also found a 3D printer, a machete in sheath, blueprints showing the assembly components of an AR15 rifle and Nazi literature.
The court document said “suspected components of an improvised explosive device” were also seized from the property. This included electrical chipboards, timers and household chemicals.
While searching the other property, police said they seized a phone, an iPad, two laptops, a USB drive, a desktop computer, 134 spent shotgun shells and a large knife.
When asked for the passcodes for the iPad and one of the phones, the defendant allegedly provided incorrect passcodes.
“When suggested that he was providing the wrong passcodes, the defendant claimed not to remember the passcodes,” the court document said.
Police analysed the defendant’s devices and said they found several objectionable materials, including a copy of Brenton Tarrant’s manifesto, a video of the Christchurch mosque attacks and a copy of a manifesto written by Ryan Palmeter, who killed three people in Jacksonville, Florida, in 2023.
There were also two copies of “an instructional book on how to make explosives, weapons, drugs and other dangerous or illegal activity” and videos of the Russian Moscow Isis concert hall terror attack and the Buffalo, New York, mass shooting.
When spoken to by police, the defendant denied being involved in any of the alleged offending.
– RNZ