Two teenage boys planned to blow up their school in a Columbine-style massacre, Manchester crown court has heard.
Matthew Swift, 18, and his friend Ross McKnight, 16, both of Greater Manchester, have denied conspiracy to murder and to cause explosions.
The court heard how the two boys allegedly planned to bomb a shopping centre and then go on a killing spree at Audenshaw High School, on the Columbine tragedy's tenth anniversary. A teacher and 12 students were killed in the Colorado high school shooting in 1999.
Mr Swift is a former pupil of the school in Manchester, while Ross is still a student there. The pair were arrested in March.
Peter Wright QC, prosecuting, said they had plotted the massacre, fantasised about the killing spree and agreed to carry out their plans. Referring to the Columbine tragedy, he said to the jury: 'You may remember it, you may have read about it and seen photographs of it.
'Once at the school, they embarked upon a massacre of students and staff in which these two young men killed 12 students and a teacher.
'They also wounded some 21 others before each of them committed suicide.
'It is the prosecution case that these two young men sat in the dock had planned to copy and emulate the actions of Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold [the Columbine killers], here in the UK.'
The court also heard how the pair allegedly planned to plant a bomb at a shopping centre to divert attention before they went on their killing spree.
The case continues.
Matthew Swift, 18, and his friend Ross McKnight, 16, both of Greater Manchester, have denied conspiracy to murder and to cause explosions.
The court heard how the two boys allegedly planned to bomb a shopping centre and then go on a killing spree at Audenshaw High School, on the Columbine tragedy's tenth anniversary. A teacher and 12 students were killed in the Colorado high school shooting in 1999.
Mr Swift is a former pupil of the school in Manchester, while Ross is still a student there. The pair were arrested in March.
Peter Wright QC, prosecuting, said they had plotted the massacre, fantasised about the killing spree and agreed to carry out their plans. Referring to the Columbine tragedy, he said to the jury: 'You may remember it, you may have read about it and seen photographs of it.
'Once at the school, they embarked upon a massacre of students and staff in which these two young men killed 12 students and a teacher.
'They also wounded some 21 others before each of them committed suicide.
'It is the prosecution case that these two young men sat in the dock had planned to copy and emulate the actions of Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold [the Columbine killers], here in the UK.'
The court also heard how the pair allegedly planned to plant a bomb at a shopping centre to divert attention before they went on their killing spree.
The case continues.
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