A gunman accused of planning a mass shooting had designed a rocket launcher to fire a chemical weapon at police, a court heard.
Reed Wischhusen, 32, said the ballistic projector would contain a “mind control substance” based on weapons developed by Russia.
The Lidl warehouse worker told his trial at Bristol Crown Court he “quickly gave up on the idea” and never purchased the materials to build the weapon – describing the project as “fantasy”.
Wischhusen is accused of possessing explosives, firearms and ammunition, which were discovered when police searched his home.
During the search, he attempted to take his own life in the bathroom with a pistol he had hidden in his coat but when that failed, he ran at armed officers pointing the gun at them and hoping they would “finish the job”.
The police officers fired three times – hitting him twice – as he ran down the stairs of his home in Somerset.