Overview
- Both Douk Deng was arrested after workmen raised the alarm at Edgar Wood Academy and officers detained him on August 6 last year while he carried a hammer, hatchet, a seven-inch kitchen knife and a jerry can with about half a litre of petrol.
- Deng pleaded guilty to multiple offences including criminal damage and possession of offensive weapons on school premises and was sentenced at Minshull Street Crown Court to two years, with up to half to be served in custody and the remainder on licence.
- Prosecutors told the court they believed he intended to set fire to the school, while the defence said the act was attention-seeking driven by frustration over three refused asylum applications and difficult accommodation.
- Greater Manchester Police released CCTV and body-worn camera footage showing Deng’s behaviour and the arrest, and senior officers publicly praised the fast response that prevented harm.
- Judge Bernadette Baxter noted Deng’s traumatic background and said the Home Office should do more to resolve his immigration status, a point that underlines wider tensions over how the asylum system handles repeated refusals and destitute claimants.