German authorities arrest 17-year-old suspected of planning extremist-inspired attack

Fog covers the Elbe river in the district of Blankness in Hamburg, Germany, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

BERLIN — A 17-year-old boy has been arrested in the German city of Hamburg on suspicion of planning an attack on a shopping mall, a bar or a police station, prosecutors said Monday.

The Syrian national was arrested in Hamburg on Thursday, prosecutors in Germany’s second-biggest city said in a statement. They added that the Islamic State extremist group apparently was the inspiration for his alleged plans to kill an undetermined number of “infidels” using explosives, Molotov cocktails or a knife.

The suspect allegedly had procured fertilizer, lighter fluid, a balaclava and a knife, which were seized last week. He is under investigation on suspicion of preparing a terrorist act and terror financing.

Prosecutors said they previously had ordered a psychiatric assessment of the suspect in connection with a separate investigation into alleged violations of Germany’s law governing associations and other offenses. They didn’t elaborate on that case.

The Associated Press