Death in Santaland - Travels With My Camera

Wed 2 May 2007 10.30pm
Documentary about a foiled school massacre in a Christmas-themed Alaskan town.

Travels With My Camera home >>

Jon Ronson travels to North Pole, Alaska, to see what he can find out about a plot by a gang of 13-year-olds to murder their classmates and teachers. This tiny, freezing town is the home of the American Santa, and the local schoolchildren are his elves. Does everybody here really love Christmas, or does too much festivity bring out the need to kill?

Got something to say about this doc?
Post your comments on the forum >>

In April 2006 six 13-year-olds were arrested in North Pole for planning a mass murder. They were part of a gang of 15 'outsiders' who had drawn up a hitlist and were going to take guns and knives into class to settle some scores.

They had planned to disable the school's power and telephone systems before carrying out the shootings and then escaping to Anchorage on the train. But they were foiled when the boy who was supposed to bring the weapons failed to show up.

Were they really serious? Would this have been another Columbine or Virginia Tech? Or was it just the talk of teenagers living in a fantasy world where it's Christmas 365 days a year?

Can't see the video? You will need Windows Media Player to watch these clips. Download here