‘If I did a thing like Breivik, I’d be remembered’

Man, 30, told gardaí he would harm local schoolchildren and wanted to commit ‘suicide by cop’

A 30-year-old man who owned crossbows and knives told gardaí he would harm children attending his local national school so that he would be remembered like Norwegian mass murderer, Anders Breivik.

Colm Feehily, from Kilroe, Ower, Headford, also invited armed gardaí to shoot him as he wanted to commit “suicide by cop”, during a violent, psychotic episode.

Feehily pleaded guilty before Galway Circuit Criminal Court last November to making a threat to Garda James Carty and Garda Aidan Foley at Culleen, Headford, on November 14, 2016, that he intended to cause serious harm to children attending Kilroe NS, contrary to Section 5 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997.

Sentence had been adjourned until yesterday’s court for the preparation of up-to-date psychiatric, psychological, and probation reports on the accused.

Garda Darren Egan told the sentence hearing gardaí in Tuam received a call from Feehily’s mother at 8.45pm on the date in question asking them to attend at the West Doc surgery as her son was there with psychiatric issues and there was a fear he might have weapons.

Gardaí notified the Regional Support Unit and they all went to the doctor’s surgery where they met Feehily’s mother. She told gardaí her son had serious mental health issues and had stopped taking his medication.

The defendant refused to co-operate with gardaí and struck out at Garda Carty. A taser had to be used to subdue him but he continued to make threats and at one point asked gardaí to shoot him.

Geri Silke, prosecuting, said Feehily had been threatening suicide at the time. She said he had suicide ideation had wanted “suicide by cop”.

Garda Egan said Feehily made a more serious threat then, which was taken very seriously, that if he did what Anders Breivik did, then that would be one way that he would get help.

Ms Silke explained the local national school was beside Feehily’s home and he was referring to that school.

“He said he would be remembered if he did something like Breivik. He did make threats to the children in the school,” Ms Silke said.

Garda Egan said Feehily was arrested and taken to the psychiatric unit at UHG.

Feehily’s home was searched the next day with his parents’ consent. Gardaí found crossbows and knives in the house. A Garda presence was maintained at the school for a number of days after the incident.

Ms Silke said Feehily’s threats were a cry for help.

In the aftermath, he had said: “Do I have to kill myself or will I have to kill a number of kids in the school to get help?”

Garda Egan agreed it was a cry for help but added that the defendant had drink and drug abuse issues as well.

Following his admission to hospital, Feehily told staff there he could not remember making any threats.

John Hogan, defending, said Feehily had previously been diagnosed with schizo-affective disorder and aggressive behaviour would be seen as secondary to his psychosis when not taking his prescribed medications.

He explained that in the days leading up to this incident, Feehily had become dissatisfied with the manner in which he was engaging with the mental health services and had stopped taking his anti-psychotic and antidepressant medications.

He said that was in no way a criticism of the services involved but it had been his client’s subjective view that he was not being treated properly and he had come off his medications.

Once back on his medications, Feehily had become “pleasant and passive” again and was fully engaging with the mental health and the probation service, Mr Hogan said.

He said Feehily’s aggressive behaviour was liked to his illness and lack of medication but also as a result of being tasered, subdued and handcuffed and he had invited gardaí to shoot him on seeing they were armed.

“He knows the terminology he used was inappropriate and necessitated Garda involvement,” Mr Hogan added.

Judge Rory McCabe said Feehily’s mother was present during the incident and she had justifiable concerns for her son as he had suicidal ideation at the time when he asked gardaí to shoot him.

Reading all of the reports handed into court, Judge McCabe said they all agreed there was very little likelihood of Feehily reoffending if he took his medications.

The judge said it would not be in the interests of justice to impose an immediate custodial sentence.

He sentenced Feehily to 18 months in prison, which he suspended for five years.