Somerset man provoked police shooting in suicide attempt, court hears
Reed Wischhusen from Wick St Lawrence denies allegations he was planning a mass shooting
A man, allegedly planning a mass shooting in Somerset when he was shot by armed police last year, has told a court he was trying to get himself killed by pointing a gun at officers.
Reed Wischhusen who's 32 and Wick St Lawrence near Weston Super Mare is on trial at Bristol Crown Court accused of planning to attack a school and Avon and Somerset Police Headquarters with guns and bombs, which he denies.
Police were searching his home on 28 November 2022 after receiving intelligence he was building lethal weapons, when he pulled out a pistol.
Two armed officers warned the 32-year-old to put down the handgun, but as he continued to come down the stairs towards them he was shot three times, the jury heard.
Minutes before he had rushed to the bathroom of his home, grabbed a concealed handgun and shot himself in the head.
When that suicide attempt failed, he ran down the stairs to confront the Avon and Somerset officers with the firearm held aloft, Bristol Crown Court heard.
The Lidl warehouse worker spent several months in hospital, and it was not until March that he was well enough to be interviewed by detectives, the prosecution said.
In a prepared statement, Wischhusen said: "I make this statement knowing it may be given in evidence.
"This was a suicide attempt.
"I've always had suicidal thoughts.
"When in the bathroom I shot myself in the head, trying to kill myself.
"I ran at the officers hoping they would kill me.
"I have nothing further to say."
In further interviews the defendant confirmed he had thought about killing himself with a firearm "since he was small".
The jury has been told police found several weapons, as well as body armour and a deactivated hand grenade, when they searched the property Wischhusen shared with his father.
Wischhusen told detectives he had a "passion for firearms and weapons" and was a member of a gun club and shot regularly.
The firearm he used on the day of his arrest he had converted to fire live ammunition, which he had done to "get back" at the firearms licensing department that refused his shotgun application, he told police.
"He denied any intention to hurt anybody - police, members of the public and people from the past," Jonathan Rees KC, prosecuting, told the jury.
The jury has previously been told Wischhusen was fascinated with mass shootings and infamous killers such as Dunblane gunman Thomas Hamilton and Raoul Moat.
It is alleged he had drawn up plans to carry out a "hitman-style attack" on his former school in a document he had called "Revenge".
Jurors heard phase one of Wischhusen's alleged revenge plan was to kill 10 people using a converted pistol with a silencer while wearing disguised clothing and a wig.
Wischhusen told detectives: "With regard to the document in my computer called 'Revenge', it's a fantasy story.
"I accept it is not the most reasoned piece of thinking and includes me killing myself twice, but I have absolutely no intention of doing anything about it.
"I wrote it to amuse myself.
"I repeat I have never harmed anyone at any time in my life and have never wanted to harm anyone else."
Wischhusen, of Wick Road, Wick St Lawrence, denies charges of having an explosive substance with intent to endanger life, having an explosive substance, possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life, possessing ammunition with intent to endanger life and possessing a prohibited firearm without a certificate.
The trial continues.