In this May 15, 2020 photo, a man rests along Merlion park in Singapore. (Roslan RAHMAN / AFP)
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.
The Singaporean student had mapped out his route and chosen two mosques near his home in northern Singapore
“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.
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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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