Teen accused in school sword attack praised Nazis, talked about mass murder plans, court hears
asserted
court → accuse → plans
17-year-old has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder, other charges in 2025 attack at Brandon school
WARNING:
asserted
old → plead → school
This story contains references to violent crime and racially motivated attacks.
asserted
story → contain → crime
In the months leading up to a sword attack at a Brandon, Man., high school, a teen wrote in a notebook about "invaders" of Canada — specifically Black and Muslim immigrants — and his mass murder plan.
asserted
teen → lead → Canada
That's according to an agreed statement of facts presented in court Tuesday, as the trial for the boy began unexpectedly ahead of schedule in Brandon's Court of King's Bench.
uncertain
trial → accord → Bench
The day was originally scheduled for a pretrial hearing.
asserted
day → schedule → hearing
The now 17-year-old, who can't be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, pleaded not guilty to nine charges related to the June 10, 2025, attack at Neelin High School in the southwestern Manitoba city, including three charges of attempted murder.
asserted
who → name → murder
He's also charged with aggravated assault, two counts of assault with a weapon, wearing a disguise with intent and two counts of possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose.
asserted
He → charge → purpose
As the charges were read out, the boy became emotional, prompting the judge to ask him if he needed a break.
asserted
he → read → break
The 2025 attack left a fellow 15-year-old student — who is Black and whose family is originally from Nigeria — with major injuries, in what police have previously described as a racially motivated crime.
asserted
police → leave → crime
Details of the attack were revealed in court in an agreed statement of facts read by federal Crown prosecutor Hugh Crawley.
asserted
Details → reveal → Crawley
Just after 10 a.m. on the morning of the attack, the accused, then a Grade 10 student, told a friend on the phone that he was going through with the plan he'd been formulating for months.
asserted
he → accuse → months
Shortly after 1 p.m., he entered the school wearing black pants and a black trench coat, with a concealed sword and steak knife.
asserted
he → enter → sword
He went to a washroom and put on a black "plague" face mask, which featured a long, beak-like nose and covered most of his face.
asserted
which → go → face
He then entered the east hallway of the high school, which has about 380 students in grades 9 to 12.
asserted
which → enter → 12
Brandon community cadets are seen outside Neelin High School in Brandon on Tuesday, June 10, 2025.
asserted
cadets → see → Tuesday
The victim, a fellow student, stopped to tell the teen he liked the costume.
asserted
he → stop → costume
They spoke for a few seconds before the accused stabbed the other teen multiple times in his shoulder, chest, stomach, thigh and arm.
asserted
accused → speak → shoulder
The victim — a 15-year-old Grade 10 student — grabbed at the sword to try to prevent the attack, which severed one of his fingers and cut others.
asserted
which → grab → others
That victim ran away, with the accused following, then ducked into the administration office.
asserted
accused → run → office
He passed by the principal, Baseswa Nundu, who thought the victim was playing a joke.
asserted
victim → pass → joke
Soon after, the accused spotted the principal and chased him down the hall.
asserted
accused → accuse → hall
Nundu ran into a nearby classroom and held the door closed.
asserted
Nundu → run → door
The accused stabbed at a small glass window by the door, narrowly missing Nundu's eye.
asserted
accused → accuse → eye
The accused then walked down the hallway past several Caucasian students and didn't react, the agreed statement reads.
asserted
statement → accuse → students
He saw another student, identified in the statement only as B, and started chasing that student with his sword above his head.
asserted
He → see → head
A Caucasian teacher stopped the accused and was unharmed.
asserted
teacher → stop → accused
According to the agreed statement of facts read by Crawley, the accused entered a classroom and asked if there were "any blacks."
uncertain
accused → accord → classroom
The students told him no and the accused left.
asserted
accused → tell → him
'Why didn't you shoot me?'
asserted
you → shoot → me
By this point — about five minutes after the accused had entered the school — the principal had ordered a lockdown and the hallways were largely empty.
asserted
hallways → accuse → lockdown
Seven minutes after the teen entered the school, Brandon police officers arrived.
asserted
officers → enter → school
Nearly the entire Brandon police service was sent to the school, the statement of facts says.
asserted
statement → send → facts
The accused asked police to shoot him in the head and refused to drop the sword, the statement says.
asserted
statement → accuse → sword
Police used a Taser on him twice before he was taken into custody.
asserted
he → use → custody
Once in custody, the teen shouted, "Why didn't you shoot me?" and "I wanted you to shoot me."
asserted
you → shout → me
The teen "told every officer he encountered that he was intoxicated," according to the agreed statement of facts, but officers said he showed no signs of this.
uncertain
he → tell → this
In a videotaped interview with police, played in court Tuesday, the boy told detectives he'd been planning the incident for months and he'd gotten the sword from his home, saying it belonged to his sister.
asserted
it → videotape → sister
He said he practised with it in the bushes in his yard.
asserted
he → say → yard
When pressed on his motive, he said he wanted to "go out with a bang" and hoped that would garner praise from certain people.
asserted
that → press → people
…and 21 more, not listed.
The Aporia
