Toy guns lining the walls, camouflage netting and Finding Nemo cushions: Inside the bedroom of gun-obsessed Trump ‘assassin wannabe’
Michael Sandford, 20, has been refused bail after trying to shoot the billionaire presidential candidate
THE man who is accused of trying to assassinate Trump was a gun-obsessed teenager who decorated his room with toy guns, camouflaged netting and Finding Nemo toys.
Michael Sandford has been accused of trying to grab a policeman’s gun at a Donald Trump rally in Las Vegas, with police saying he later told them he had wanted to shoot the presidential candidate and expected to die in the attempt.
Facing a US court on Monday, Sandford was shackled and denied bail with concerns he would be a flight risk.
But the accused attempted assassin's father has spoken out, saying his son must have been given the idea or even black-mailed into it.
Paul Davey said he was "absolutely devastated", adding: "He's never been very good at communicating, he's never been interested in politics and never really been interested in much."
An exclusive insight into the young man’s world has now been revealed through the rooms where the young man spent most of his time growing up.
Michael Sandford, whose parents split when he was about four-years-old, lived between his parent’s homes and decorated one of his bedrooms with toy guns and camouflage print.
One photo of his room, taken about six years ago, reveals green and brown print covers his walls with netting hanging from the ceiling.
At least a dozen toy guns are visible in the photo, pinned to the wall.
In other photos, believed to be at his second bedroom, the then-teenage Sandford has plastered his walls with movie and PlayStation 2 posters.
The posters, including one of Iron Man and another of The Day After Tomorrow, cover the walls behind his bed.
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Pride of place on Sandford's bed are two clownfish from the movie Finding Nemo while a second photo shows plush penguin toys and a large black and orange toy spider surrounded again by posters plastered on the wall.
The young man had previously been involved in robotics, having bought several expensive robots while in the UK.
His family said the young man had moved to the US to follow a girl but it is unclear whether he was still with her at the time of the assassination attempt.
But the father of the British national has said his son was a "quiet and insular" boy had never been interested in politics.
Instead, he said his son would have been given the idea from someone else or even blackmailed.
Paul Davey, 50, said: "We thought he was still in New Jersey so obviously when the embassy phoned us up and told us what happened 2,500 kilometres away we didn't know anything about it.
"We haven't been able to speak to him and we've had little communication with the authorities.
"Looking back, I don't want to use the term radicalised but we don't know who he has been speaking with - this just isn't him.
"It's an absolute shock, he's never been violent in the slightest, he's always been a polite and peaceful boy.
"It's totally out of character and we're worried about what has happened to him since he's been in America because obviously it's a dramatic change.”
One of Sandford's former classmates who knew him in Year 6 at Powell Corderoy Primary School, said they recognised the now 20-year-old straight away.
They said: "My boyfriend's mum showed me an article about it this morning and asked if I had gone to school with him and as soon as I saw the picture I recognised him.
"All I remember about him from school - he was a bit of a strange one and I never really spoke to him.
"We didn't keep in touch. I used to see his mum around town quite a lot."
She said she was aware he had some mental health issues and autism.
Sandford went on to attend Ashcombe School, said headteacher David Blow, but he declined to comment further.
Powell Corderoy headteacher Emma McLoughlin said she did not work at the school when Sandford attended but staff had mentioned him.
She said: "I did not know the guy, it was a long time ago in the school's history.
"It highlights the importance of how we teach children about expressing themselves in non-violent ways.
"To be honest it's not the sort of thing we want to draw the children's attention to."
Police visited the Dorking home, escorting two women, including Sandford's mother Lynne, to the waiting cars.
Mr Davey said his son's autism often made it difficult to discuss personal issues.
He said his son had recently seemed upset but refused to tell his parents what was wrong.
Mr Davey said: "He's been refusing to come back and we were worried about him, we were in contact with the American Embassy telling them we were worried about him. The American authorities said 'he's over 18 we can't do anything.'
"He's never shown any violent tendencies before, he's never been a bad person, he's a nice kid and literally wouldn't hurt a fly - he used to tell us not to use fly spray because he didn't want any flies to die."
He said he now planned to travel to America to see his son.