Singapore Detains Teen for Allegedly Planning Mosque Attacks Year After Christchurch Terror

(Bloomberg) -- Singaporean authorities detained a teenager under internal security laws for planning to kill Muslims at two mosques in the city-state on the March 15 anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks.

The 16-year-old student is the youngest to be detained under such laws and the first detainee driven by far-right extremist ideology, the Internal Security Department said in a statement.

“He was self-radicalized, motivated by a strong antipathy towards Islam and a fascination with violence. He watched the live-streamed video of the terrorist attack on the two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand and read the manifesto of the attacker, Brenton Tarrant,” the department said.

The Singaporean student had mapped out his route and chosen two mosques near his home in northern Singapore. He bought a flak jacket and had plans to buy a machete online with the intention of live-streaming his planned attack, according to the department.

Initially, the student wanted to procure a gun while exploring the feasibility of making a bomb, and mimicking Tarrant’s plan of setting fire to the mosques with gasoline. He eventually gave up on all these ideas when he realized Singapore had strict gun-control laws and the decision was partly driven by logistical and personal safety concerns.

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