Nineteen-year-old Nicholas Prosper spent much of his time online. This is hardly uncommon for modern teenagers, but Prosper – who rarely left home – was so immersed in the digital world that some of his neighbours reportedly had no idea he existed.
That changed last September when people in Leabank Tower, Luton, were startled by the sounds of screams and gunshots in the early hours. Prosper, who was 18 at the time, had shot his mother, Juliana Falcon, 48, and siblings Kyle Falcon, 16, and Giselle Falcon, 13, in the head. Police said that when they arrived at the scene they were “met with such awful circumstances”.
Motivations behind the murders are unclear but in a disturbing video allegedly posted online before the shootings, Prosper appears to say his sister would be hurt for making an “incorrect choice” in a video game. He also said he was “guided” and “chosen” by the game’s protagonist.
On Monday, Prosper admitted murdering his mother and siblings. He also pleaded guilty to other offences, including buying a shotgun without a certificate, possession of a shotgun with intent to endanger life and possession of a kitchen knife in a public place.
It emerged that Prosper was plotting a shooting at his former primary school, to be carried out after killing his family. He was apprehended by officers before he could go through with the plans.
The teenager was arrested by officers shortly after police were called to the family home. Officers found a loaded shotgun hidden in bushes nearby along with more than 30 cartridges.
News that Prosper had planned to kill more people, including young children, after murdering his family comes amid greater concern over online violent content and how it could be influencing some to enact it in the real world.
According to Ofcom, the number of people seeing content online depicting or encouraging violence or injury has increased year on year. Its figures show 11% of users aged 18 and older had seen such material, up from 9% a year earlier.
The communications regulator also said that online content was “unavoidable” for children in the UK, with many first exposed to it while still at primary school.
In 2021, Jake Davison killed five people including his mother and a three-year-old girl in Plymouth. An inquest heard he was fascinated by mass shootings, serial killers and “incel” ideology. It was also found that he had made a series of “disturbing” online posts.
Last month, it emerged that the Southport killer, Axel Rudakubana, had watched hours of violent content online, including torture and dead bodies, before murdering three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class.
High-profile cases such as these have prompted the government to call on technology companies to remove violent and graphic content from their platforms.
“With just a few clicks, people can watch video after horrific video, videos that in some cases are never taken down,” the prime minister said after an inquiry into the Southport killings.
School shootings in the UK are incredibly rare but there have been recent plots to carry them out. In 2023, warehouse worker Reed Wischhusen, 32, was found guilty of plotting to carry out “revenge” attacks at his old primary school. During his trial, it emerged that he was obsessed with mass killings.
Schools in Luton have begun to take precautions. Hazel Simmons, the leader of Luton council, said the council would ask schools to review their security measures.
“The revelation that the perpetrator had plans to cause further harm in one of our schools is extremely shocking, distressing and upsetting, and we don’t underestimate the emotional difficulty this news will have on children, staff, parents and carers across our school community,” she said,
“Our schools have robust systems in place to keep children safe, and security is constantly reviewed and monitored. Just recently we asked our schools to further review security and for increased vigilance following the incident in a school in Sheffield.
“We will be asking schools to further review security measures in light of what came out in court today.”
Despite the wide-reaching concerns the case is likely to prompt, tributes have also been paid to the loving family Prosper killed, including his “strong, loving mother”, “kind and funny” brother and “lovable” sister “with an infectious smile”.
