According to Dawn News report: Singaporean authorities have detained a 17-year-old who allegedly planned a mass killing of Muslims outside several mosques, officials announced. The teenager, apprehended in March, reportedly idolized Brenton Tarrant, the white supremacist who carried out the 2019 mosque shootings in Christchurch, New Zealand.
The city-state’s Internal Security Department (ISD) disclosed in a statement that the suspect identified as an “East Asian supremacist” had plotted attacks on five mosques across Singapore during Friday prayers. According to Minister for Home Affairs K. Shanmugam, the teen intended to murder at least 100 Muslims in an attempt to surpass Tarrant’s death toll and sought to live-stream his attacks.
Authorities revealed that before his arrest, the teenager made multiple attempts to procure firearms. “He explicitly stated to ISD that had he obtained a gun, he would have carried out the attacks,” Shanmugam told reporters.
Investigators further determined that the suspect had been in online contact with 18-year-old Nick Lee, who was detained in December for planning a similar attack.
Singapore, a multicultural nation, has witnessed several instances in recent years where young Singaporeans were radicalized online and subsequently accused of plotting violent attacks. In 2024, authorities arrested a teenage boy for allegedly planning a knife attack in a busy suburban area, inspired by the Islamic State (ISIS).
Additionally, ISD reported on Wednesday that in February, a 15-year-old girl was placed under a restriction order, barring her from traveling or accessing the internet without official approval. The agency alleged that between July 2023 and December 2024, the girl engaged in at least eight short-term romantic online relationships with overseas ISIS supporters.
Shanmugam disclosed that she had pledged allegiance to an ISIS chatbot, expressed a desire to fight and die for the terrorist group, and even researched flights to Syria while contemplating ways to finance her journey.
“The growing trend of online radicalization among youth is deeply concerning,” Shanmugam remarked.
The ISD warned that “self-radicalization can occur with alarming speed,” citing the 15-year-old girl’s case as an example, where indoctrination took only weeks. Authorities urged the public to remain vigilant against signs of extremism and radicalization.
