Neo-Nazi plotting mass gun attack foiled in east London car park sting

Alfie Coleman, 21, found guilty of planning the attack after being snared by MI5 in an undercover sting

A Neo-Nazi teenager plotted to carry out a mass gun attack but was foiled as he tried to buy a gun in an east London car park.

Alfie Coleman, 21, was found guilty at the Old Bailey on Thursday of preparing for terrorist acts after being snared by MI5 in an undercover sting.

He was 19 when armed police swooped to arrest him outside a Morrisons supermarket in Stratford on September 29, 2023.

Coleman, from Great Notley in Essex, had arranged with an undercover officer to buy a Makarov pistol, five magazines and 200 rounds of ammunition.

Jurors saw dramatic video of Coleman dropping £3,500 in a Land Rover Discovery and picking up a holdall containing the handgun and ammunition from the boot.

Before he had gone 30 yards, Coleman, who was carrying his Tesco employee card, was confronted by armed counter-terrorism police and forced to the ground.

A search of the home he shared with his parents and sibling revealed the extent of Coleman’s murderous ideology, including idolising Thomas Mair, the extremist who killed MP Jo Cox.

Police found £2,500 in savings and a device to detect bugs and secret cameras in his bedside drawer; a rock with a Swastika on a table; a Black Sun flag associated with neo-Nazism on the wall; and various extreme right wing books.

Police also seized a collection of knives from his bedside drawer and on top of his chest of drawers, a small stone axe, an air rifle and a flyer about target shooting.

An analysis of his electronic devices revealed that in July 2021, Coleman had emailed the far-right white supremacist organisation Patriotic Alternative saying he “would like to start participating in activism”.

He went on to write down plans for potential terrorist attacks such as hijacking a plane and targeting the home of the Lord Mayor of London.

They involved putting explosives in a cash machine as well as the use of knives and crossbows, the court was told.

He was “seething with hatred” as he created an list of people at work who had “upset” him in September 2022, prosecutor Nicholas De La Poer KC had said.

Among those he singled out was a white female co-worker who was married to a man of mixed Indian and Seychellois heritage.

Coleman said he was “captivated” by an extreme right wing book which commemorated public hangings of “white race traitors”.

The defendant’s “manifesto” drew inspiration from several extremist mass killers who he regarded as “warriors”.

Six days before his arrest, Coleman posted a picture of a man armed with an automatic gun and wearing a balaclava, and commented: “Coming soon here my man.”

Two days before he was due to pick up the Makarov in Stratford, he wrote: “Just something has gotta be done, how long can we sit here and talk over the internet.”

The same day, Coleman ordered a Gerber Strong Arm knife with a 4.8 inch blade online.

Giving evidence, Coleman described being lonely and suffering with his mental health during the Covid-19 lockdowns.

He had admitted attempting to possess both a firearm and ammunition but denied he was preparing for a terrorist attack.

He had pleaded guilty to possessing 10 documents with information likely to be useful to terrorists such as texts on weaponry and bomb-making instructions.

Thursday’s guilty verdict followed a retrial at the Old Bailey. Coleman was remanded into custody to be sentenced on July 8.

Detective Chief Superintendent Helen Flanagan, head of operations for the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, said “The verdict shows the success of counter terrorism policing and MI5 working together and that’s what we do day in day out.

“Alfie Coleman is a really dangerous individual, and through our work, we were able to thwart any attack and manage that risk to the public.

“Securing the evidence of Coleman physically exchanging the money for firearms provided the prosecution team with the evidence that shows Coleman was fully prepared and committed to carry out an attack way beyond simply typing out ideas of fantasy on his computer.

“The fact he’s seeking out automatic weapons shows that his intention wasn’t to identify one individual and attack one individual.

“Clearly he had grievance towards specific individuals but his intention seemed to be more towards a mass attack and planning that and creating that sort of race war. That was his mindset.”

Ms Flanagan said Coleman’s was an “acute” example of a growing trend of children becoming radicalised online and drawn into terrorism.

“Sadly in this case, it’s ultimately led to him developing a plan and desire to go out and kill innocent people,” she said.

“Whilst this is rare and shocking, unfortunately we’re starting to see this more and more in our casework, so this is not unique.”

She added that it was “vital” parents take an interest in what their children are doing online and if necessary initiate “difficult conversations”.

Evening Standard