Both Douk Deng was jailed for two years
18:43, 28 Jul 2026Updated 19:47, 28 Jul 2026
Both Douk Deng(Image: GMP)
A failed asylum seeker who went to a school armed with a hammer, a hatchet and a kitchen knife was seeking ‘attention’.
Both Douk Deng, 21, became ‘increasingly frustrated’ that immigration authorities were not providing assistance in his bid to stay and work in the UK.
South Sudanese national Deng, who applied for and was refused asylum on three occasions, wanted to ‘create a scene for attention’ to aid his cause, Manchester’s Minshull Street Crown Court heard on Tuesday, July 28.
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He was arrested after workmen confronted him at Edgar Wood Academy in Heywood, on August 6 last year.
A member of the public earlier raised concerns after Deng was observed ‘behaving oddly’ in the street nearby en route to the secondary school holding a petrol can with a hammer tied to his belt.
Deng was ‘mumbling’ as he walked a ‘full circuit’ around the school, which was closed to pupils for the summer, as he scanned the building and then approached it before builders working on site became concerned and called the police.
The defendant was walking away from the school when he was detained, the court was told.
Along with the hammer and hatchet, he was found to be in possession of a seven-inch kitchen knife and a jerry can containing half a litre of petrol.
A day earlier he was spotted ‘acting oddly’ at another school, Holy Family RC and CE College in Rochdale, also closed to pupils, where he kicked and damaged its intercom.
Sara Haque, defending, said: “He maintains that his actions were not motivated by any desire to injure or harm any person.
“This was a bizarre and compulsive act lacking in any type of maturity at a time when he was in deep distress having left Sudan and his family in traumatic circumstances.
Edgar Wood Academy, Heywood Old Road in Middleton(Image: Google Maps)
“He wanted attention and he was in crisis but he was not motivated by hostility towards children, teachers or the wider public.
“There is no evidence that he threatened any individual.”
Deng, who has a wife and children, was placed in multiple accommodation housing (HMO) on his arrival in the UK, the court was told.
Ms Haque said: “He found himself in a foreign country with very limited English and unable to work because of his immigration status.
“He believed and felt no-one was listening to him and no-one was helping him.
“He felt he had reached the of his ability to cope within the HMO where others in similar circumstances to him had been assisted by the immigration authorities.
“He became increasingly frustrated that the same was not happening for him. His only wish is to work and find money to support his family.”
Psychiatric reports on the defendant had not identified any major mental health issues, the court heard.
Deng, of Taylor Street, Heywood, pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to a range of offences including criminal damage and possessing weapons and a knife in a public place and on school premises. He was jailed for two years.
Deng was told he must serve up to half his sentence in custody and the remainder on licence.
Judge Bernadette Baxter told him: “I have no power to order the Home Office to do anything.
“But in my judgment, given your circumstances as a failed asylum seeker who has been in custody for the best part of a year, the Home Office should be doing something rather than nothing to deal with your status in this country.”
Chief Superintendent Helen Caldbeck, District Commander for Rochdale, said: “I’m incredibly proud of the officers’ response to this incident.
“They were professional and brave in tackling a suspicious man armed with weapons and immediately confronted Deng, to keep the public safe.
“We have thoroughly investigated Deng and cannot find a clear indication of his motive or intention on that day.
“Thankfully no one was close to coming to harm, but this was nevertheless a disturbing incident.
“I thank all officers and investigators on this case who have ensured that the appropriate action has been taken and swift justice has been served.
“Our priority is protecting people in Greater Manchester and our officers continue to work day-in day-out in pursuit of this.”