A former student nurse who was previously convicted of having brought a pressure cooker bomb to a British hospital has also been found guilty of planning a terrorist attack on a Royal Air Force Base, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) announced on Tuesday.
On January 20, 2023, Mohammad Farooq, a British citizen and former nursing student, was arrested for entering St. James’s Hospital in Leeds with a gun and an explosive device, and telling a person in the hospital he “felt like killing everyone.” Police discovered a pressure cooker bomb on Farooq, and a search of his vehicle revealed additional materials that could be used to prepare improvised explosive devices.
Farooq previously pleaded guilty to several charges, including possession of information useful to a terrorist and possession of an imitation firearm with intent to commit an indictable offense. However, he denied that his actions constituted preparing acts of terrorism. Nevertheless, the jury at Sheffield Crown Court found him guilty under the Terrorism Act 2006 of preparing acts of terrorism.
Detective Superintendent Paul Greenwood, Head of Investigations for Counter Terrorism Policing North East, highlighted the outcome of the case, saying:
This trial clearly evidenced Farooq’s intent to act on his beliefs and carry out an attack. He’d researched and prepared for his actions, building an improvised explosive device and prioritizing his targets. He was primarily motivated by a Daesh-inspired ideology, but also by his own, deep-seated grievances.
Farooq will be sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court on a date to be determined. The investigation is ongoing, with authorities working to identify any accomplices or networks that may have supported his activities.
The UK security service MI5 currently classifies terrorism as posing a “substantial” threat to the country.
For more details about the case, please refer to the original article on JURIST.