A man from Leven in Fife, Scotland, has been sentenced after attempting to purchase a gun and ammunition online and conducting web searches related to school shootings and primary school holidays. James Maxwell, 28, was arrested in January 2023 following an operation by the Organised Crime Partnership, a team consisting of officers from the National Crime Agency and Police Scotland.
Maxwell faced charges of two counts of purchasing and attempting to acquire and possess a firearm, as well as two counts of purchasing and attempting to acquire or possess ammunition. Investigators from the Organised Crime Partnership discovered that he had tried to source a firearm and hollow point bullets online. Further checks on his phones revealed searches for terms such as “Dunblane,” “primary schools in Glasgow,” and “when do schools break up for Christmas holidays.”
