Falkirk teen on trial over school massacre threat

Andrew Ferguson denied all charges at Falkirk Sheriff Court. Picture: John Devlin

Andrew Ferguson, 17, is accused of using Twitter to post a threat to “massacre children” at St Mungo’s High School, Falkirk by use of a blade.

The charge claims that on June 5th this year he communicated “a threat to carry out a seriously violent act against a person or persons of a particular description” in that he did “publicly post on social media, namely Twitter, a threat to massacre children at St Mungo’s High School in Falkirk by use of blade”.

The charge claims he intended to cause fear or alarm, or he was reckless as to whether he caused fear and alarm, by issuing the threat on the social network site.

A second charge claimed he behaved in a threatening or abusive manner likely to cause fear and alarm by posting offensive comments on Twitter aimed at the school’s deputy headmaster James Murphy. which said he “hoped his family would die in a massacre”.

A third charge alleged he acted in a racially aggravated manner which caused or was intended to cause alarm and distress by posting derogatory racial remarks about the pastoral head of the school, Ann-Marie Jess, and stating that he wanted to assault her.

All the charges claim he sent the Twitter posts from his home at Camelon on June 5th.

Ferguson denied all three charges when he appeared today in the dock at Falkirk Sheriff Court.

Sheriff Derek O’Carroll set trial for September, with a pre-trial hearing in August.

St Mungo’s High School is the only Roman Catholic high school in the Falkirk Council area. It moved with its 1350 pupils to a new building on the site of the old school’s sports fields five years ago.