The Düsseldorf Public Prosecutor’s Office arrested a 15-year-old Turkish-German teenager for allegedly planning Islamist-style attacks against European Jewry, Spiegel reported on Thursday.
The police reportedly classified the teenager as a “threat.”
The teenager had been in contact with Islamist terrorists online, according to Information obtained by the German news site. The Islamist had reportedly begun grooming the teenager to commit an attack following the stabbing spree committed by an ISIS-affiliated Syrian asylum-seeker in Solingen in August.
The Solingen attack saw three people stabbed to death and a further eight were wounded. The terrorist group said in a statement on its Telegram account, “He carried out the attack in revenge for Muslims in Palestine and everywhere.”
Germany’s Special Task Force (SEK) stormed the boy’s home at 9:20 a.m. on Tuesday, where they reportedly found data evidencing the teenager’s plans.
After looking at the suspect’s phone, police reportedly found he shared pro-ISIS videos on TikTok and was encouraged online to commit attacks on Jewish cultural communities and festivals. The attack was allegedly planned to be carried out during an upcoming school trip to Holland.
During the operation, police arrested and released the suspect multiple times. He was initially placed in protective custody after the Solingen attack, according to Bild, but was released the same afternoon he was arrested. He was later detained again on September 9, at a fitness studio. Police reportedly were forced to overpower the suspect.
In addition to the Solingden attack, Germany has seen an uptick in violent Islamist activity over the last few months.
In September, a Syrian national was arrested for planning a machete attack on German soldiers.
Earlier this week, a machete-armed man with a Palestinian flag wounded 31 people in a series of arson and ramming attacks in the German city of Essen.