Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Fife loner jailed after researching school atrocities online and buying gun and ammunition

James Maxwell paid for a Glock 17 pistol and ammunition to be delivered from the US.

James Maxwell was jailed for five years.
James Maxwell was jailed for five years.

A loner from Fife who searched online for the Dunblane school shooting and bought a pistol and live ammunition was jailed for five years after a judge said the use of the weapon could have resulted in “unimaginable horror”.

James Maxwell paid for a Glock 17 pistol and ammunition to be delivered from the US to his home in Henderson Park, Windygates, Leven, using cryptocurrency for the transaction over the dark web.

The package containing the weapon and bullets – hidden in an electronic household item – was intercepted on January 9 this year by US authorities.

Lord Ericht told Maxwell, who claimed he had been suicidal: “The ammunition you ordered was far in excess of the amount necessary to kill yourself. You ordered 100 rounds.

“The ammunition you ordered was of a specific type which was not necessary to kill yourself.

“It was hollow point, live ammunition – hollow point ammunition is designed to cause greater injury than standard ammunition.

“100 rounds of that kind of ammunition used against school pupils would have been an unimaginable horror.”

James Maxwell is led into court
James Maxwell was jailed for five years.

At the High Court in Edinburgh, the judge pointed out Maxwell, 28, had made internet searches of when schools broke for Christmas in 2022, the 1996 Dunblane school atrocity and primary schools in Glasgow.

He said it was a feature of many school mass shootings, including at Dunblane and many in America, they ended with “the killer turning his gun on himself”.

He said: “I commend both United States law enforcement officers and Police Scotland for their actions in ensuring the gun and ammunition were not received by you.”

He ordered first offender Maxwell to be kept under supervision for a further four years when he will be on licence and can be returned to prison if he breaches its conditions.

Sinister searches

The court heard previously the US authorities contacted Police Scotland and the ordered item was delivered to Maxwell’s home address two days later, after the pistol and bullets were removed.

When officers arrived they found Maxwell wearing blue latex gloves and a laptop in use in his bedroom with an instruction manual for a Glock firearm.

Unemployed Maxwell told officers during an interview he had paid £1000 for the gun and ammunition using cryptocurrency.

He claimed that in October last year his mental health had deteriorated and he began feeling suicidal and researched how to source a gun and bullets.

Advocate depute Richard Goddard KC said: “He stated that prior to the delivery of the package he was no longer suicidal but made no effort to cancel the order as he assumed that as he had paid for it, he had to receive it.”

Glock and ammo
A Glock 17 and 9mm ammunition. Image: Shutterstock.

The prosecutor said the laptop was examined and searches were found including “best suicide method” and “suicide by gunshot uk”.

He added: “However, other searches included the words ‘primary school in Glasgow’, ‘Dunblane school massacre’, ‘when do schools break up for Christmas 2022′.”

Mr Goddard said the type of ammunition ordered by Maxwell was designed to deform on impact, increasing the surface area of the bullet and resulting in increased injury.

During an examination of Maxwell’s mobile phone, police discovered he made searches for ’13-year-old boy’ and ‘cute 14-year-olds’.

He was also found to have a video on his laptop of a girl, aged between eight and 10, performing a sex acts and eight still images of bestiality.

A further 184 files with names referencing child sexual abuse and extreme pornography were found to have been accessed.

‘Very odd, isolated existence’

Defence counsel Jonathan Crowe said his client had a “troubled upbringing” and there was a significant life-changing event for him when he was aged 13, when his father killed himself.

He said Maxwell stopped going to school and spent his time in his bedroom playing games.

“He has never attended college, he has never been in employment.

“He has sustained this very odd and isolated existence with extremely limited contact with the outside world.”

Mr Crowe said Maxwell has described himself as being suicidal for many years.

Sex Offenders Register

Maxwell earlier admitted purchasing and attempting to acquire a Glock 17 pistol and ammunition illegally and being concerned in an attempt to fraudulently evade the ban on the importation of such items between December 1 last year and January 11 this year.

He also pled guilty to making an indecent image of a child between April 22 last year and January 11 this year and possession of extreme pornography.

Maxwell, who followed the sentencing proceedings via a live link to prison, was told he will be on the Sex Offenders Register for seven years.

Sineidin Corrins, Deputy Procurator Fiscal for Specialist Casework at the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS), said: “This weapon could have been used for devastating purposes.

“But thanks to the work of law enforcement agencies and close collaboration with COPFS, this gun was removed from criminal circulation and the accused will now spend a significant period in prison as a result of his criminal actions.”

James Maxwell
James Maxwell. Image: National Crime Agency.

National Crime Agency Scotland Branch Commander Rob Miles said: “That Maxwell was researching school shootings and term dates while trying to obtain a deadly weapon and ammunition is deeply sinister and disturbing.

“This operation has removed a dangerous individual from the community, and we work tirelessly to protect the public from the trade in illegal firearms.”

Police Scotland Detective Chief Inspector Stevie Elliott said: “James Maxwell was willing to risk the safety of the public by bringing a deadly weapon into the country.

“The illegal acquisition and possession of firearms will not be tolerated in Scotland and any such crime will be thoroughly investigated.

“This sentence underlines our commitment to the Serious Organised Crime Taskforce and the country’s Serious Organised Crime Strategy.”

For more local court content visit our dedicated page, or join us on Facebook.