LONE ATTACK
Chilling moment Crawley College gunman prowls campus wielding ‘firearm’ leaving students fleeing in fear
THIS is the chilling moment a teenage gunman prowls a college campus wielding an imitation firearm.
Sandijs Dreimanis, 18, pointed the weapon at staff and pulled the trigger in front of terrified students at Crawley College last year.
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The masked teen fired 16 shots and tried to stab two hero members of staff who tackled him to the ground on April 26.
He later told police that he wanted the people who made him feel bad to be “scared” and started shooting to make himself a target.
In footage from the moments before the attack, Dreimanis can be seen wandering around the outside of the college swinging his gun.
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He then points it directly at a group of pupils, who flee in fear.
The video then cuts to the moment two school workers push Dreimanis to the ground, despite sustaining stab wounds, before police arrive to arrest him.
He was today jailed for five and a half years.
Lewes Crown Court heard “the real button was pushed,” as counter-terror cops and police snipers swarmed the college.
Dreimanis, who was born in Latvia and came to the UK aged ten, tried to deny he had the blank firing gun to cause fear of violence.
But he changed his plea to guilty in January following psychiatric tests.
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His mother watched in court as Dreimanis, wearing a grey prison tracksuit, spoke only to confirm his name.
Dreimanis had been excluded from college the previous December for fighting with another student and was only allowed on campus for a single class.
Just days before the incident he bought the gun for £130 and hid it with the knife on a pathway to the college.
Dreimanis then approached a group of terrified students and told them to “run” before opening fire.
He told officers: “It’s a blank. I just wanted people to get scared. A knife was only used because they did not run away.
"I am not a terrorist I do not like ISIS or the Taliban. I just wanted to scare people who made me feel bad.”
Workshop technician Simon Wilson and college lecturer Peter Davidson barrelled into Dreimanis as he fired directly at them.
Her Honour Judge Laing QC described their bravery as outstanding, and they were both given a £5,000 High Sheriff award.
She said: “It is clear Mr Wilson and Mr Davidson deserve special recognition.
“They are both very modest and do not think they have done anything out of the ordinary.
'UTTERLY EXTRAORDINARY'
“Their bravery was utterly extraordinary. Their instinctive desire to run towards danger is one of the most remarkable things I’ve seen in this job.
“They may play it down, saying they had a feeling the gun was imitation, but they had no way of knowing that.
“They did not hesitate at all. There is no doubt they saved the life of this defendant.
“Armed police were minutes away and he would in all likelihood been shot dead."
Dreimanis told cops that he felt he had been bullied and discriminated against, telling staff at the time of the incident that "God" would judge him.
He tried to stab Mr Wilson with the knife after he was tackled, and Mr Davidson suffered cuts to his hands.
The court heard that during the violent rampage the teen said: "The people who will judge me are God and the people I care about."
He admitted possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear, two counts of ABH and possession of a knife on school premises.
Student Elise Stellebotte, 17, said: “Everyone was pretty petrified. We had no idea what was happening and it’s worrying with all the terror attacks you hear about.
“One of my classmates was almost having a panic attack and people were very scared. Then police arrived and there were armed snipers everywhere and the helicopter in the air.”
I am prepared to accept your ultimate aim was to get yourself shot by police.
Her Honour Judge Laing QC
Another student, Eddie, 18, added: “It was absolutely terrifying. I heard shots ringing out and they were unmistakably gunshots.
"I saw the guy. He was wearing a black hoodie and a jumper and he had a mask on.
“He was screaming at people telling them: ‘Run for your lives, run, run!’ and jumping around all over the place then he fired some shots.
“It was the scariest thing ever. Everyone thought it was a terrorist attack and we all went back into the building for safety.”
Dreimanis was sentenced to three years and nine months in a young offenders institution for the firearms offence, and 12 months, six months and 21 months for the other three charges to be concurrent and consecutive to count one.
Defending Dreimanis, Richard Furlong said: “This is an unfortunate and sad young man who made a serious attempt to end his own life in the most grotesque and public way possible."
Sentencing the teenagrer Honour Judge Laing QC said: “You have a poor ability to regulate your own emotions and your mental state can change rapidly and you contemplate suicide, but you had planned it.
“You bought the gun days before and had hidden it with the knife on the pathway to college.
“You told police someone said something bad to you and got stressed.
“You were trying to be happy but realised no one really cared about you and snapped and wanted to get shot by police.
“I have no doubt at all you knew perfectly well the fear it would engender in all those students.
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“I am prepared to accept your ultimate aim was to get yourself shot by police but there is no doubt you got satisfaction from causing that amount of fear.
“You told police you wanted to scare those who you deemed had been mean to you.”
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