Boy, 15, watched Ripper video before hammer attack at school

HE FRACTURED FELLOW PUPIL'S SKULL IN CLASS

- By MARTIN NAYLOR [e-mail]

A 15-YEAR-OLD boy screamed "It is not me, it is the beast" as he smashed a hammer onto a fellow pupil's head in a horrific classroom attack.

The boy - who cannot be named by law - smuggled a hammer and axe into his Nottingham school just two hours after searching for and watching a TikTok video of serial killer Peter Sutcliffe, the Yorkshire Ripper.

His victim was hospitalised with a fractured skull.

Nottingham Crown Court heard how the teenager screamed as fellow pupils saw him pull the hammer from his bag and bring it down on the head of the other boy.

He then ran out of the classroom wielding the weapon above his head before being stopped and disarmed by two teachers.

"Concerning" messages retrieved from his phone included threats to "hurt so many people" and "kill the rest".

Sending him to a young offenders' institution for two years and four months, Judge Nirmal Shant KC said: "This is a case where you had planned this attack for many months - there was a significant level of premeditation.