A 14-year-old Austrian boy was arrested on 20 July in Tyrol on suspicion of planning a far-right terrorist attack aimed at Jewish and Muslim institutions, authorities said. The suspect has been held in pre-trial detention in Innsbruck and is being investigated for serious terrorist offences, including planned murder.
The investigation was triggered by intelligence from a foreign partner agency that uncovered the teen's encrypted Telegram exchanges with a suspected right-wing extremist in Sweden, in which they discussed attack plans. Prosecutors ordered the arrest citing the advanced stage of the alleged plot. Officers seized a dagger inscribed with Nazi slogans, a stab-proof vest, tactical helmets, a GoPro camera, and an FFP2 mask bearing skull and Third Reich symbols. The boy, who reportedly intended to livestream the attack, drew inspiration from Brenton Tarrant, the gunman behind the 2019 Christchurch mosque shootings. He has so far declined to make a statement. The presumption of innocence applies.