Crawley College: Sandijs Dreimanis sentenced after fake gun panic

A teenager who admitted walking into a college with an imitation firearm with the intention of scaring people has been sentenced.

Sandijs Dreimanis sparked panic when he pointed the gun at a member of staff and pulled the trigger at Crawley College in April 2021.

The 18-year-old had been due to stand trial at Lewes Crown Court in January, but changed his plea to guilty.

He will serve five years and six months in a young offenders institution.

Dreimanis, of Barton Walk in Crawley, had also admitted two counts of assault and possession of a bladed article on a school premises.

He repeatedly fired blanks from the imitation firearm, sparking a huge police response with dozens of firearms officers rushing to the scene.

Meanwhile, two members of college staff tackled him, with videos posted online appearing to show Dreimanis being pinned to the floor.

Judge Christine Laing QC paid tribute to the "utterly extraordinary bravery" of the men.

She said: "Their instinctive desire to run straight at danger to protect their students is one of the most remarkable things I have ever seen in this job."

The judge said she would be recommending them both for a High Sheriff's Award.

Ch Insp Shane Baker added: "It is largely thanks to the heroics of a lecturer and a member of support staff that the suspect was safely detained."

Deimanis was a student at the college at the time, but had been suspended at Christmas 2020 after fighting with another student, and was only allowed on campus to attend English lessons, the court heard.

He arrived on the grounds around lunchtime and was looking for a member of staff who had previously helped him. Another staff member reminded him he was not supposed to be on campus that day.

He replied saying "your government is racist" and warned "the people who will judge me are God and the people I care about".

He left campus but returned later having retrieved the knife and gun.

At the sentencing hearing Judge Laing said Dreimanis had had "a very poor start in life" and had been subjected to bullying and discrimination throughout his school life.

"I am prepared to accept your ultimate aim was to get shot by the police but I have little doubt you gained considerable satisfaction causing that amount of fear after repeatedly firing the firearm," she said.

"You told police you wanted to scare those who had been mean to you."

After being arrested, Deimanis told officers: "It's a blank, I just wanted people to get scared."

A blank-firing handgun and a knife were seized by police but no serious injuries were reported.

He also told police: "I'm not a terrorist. I do not like Isis or the Taliban. I just wanted to scare people who made me feel bad."

Following the sentencing, Vicki Illingworth, principal at Crawley College, said: "We would like to share our gratitude to the emergency services and to our students and staff for the courage and resilience they displayed during what was a difficult and challenging time."

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