Teen Going to Jail for ISIS After Downloading Bomb Plans to Playstation
Yet another teen has fallen for the siren call of ISIS: A 14-year-old Austrian boy pled guilty to terrorism charges today after he was accused of planning to bomb a Vienna train station. According to Reuters, the boy was encouraged by ISIS and downloaded bomb plans to his Playstation.
The AFP reports that at the time of his arrest in October 2014, police said the boy—identified only as Mertkan G.—made “concrete enquiries about buying ingredients” for a bomb and “planned to explode the devices in public places, such as the Vienna Westbahnhof.” Prosecutors say he had contact with ISIS and planned to travel to Syria to wage jihad.
Per the AFP: “Unconfirmed press reports said that the IS had offered to pay him 25,000 euros ($27,250) if he managed to carry out the attack.”
Mertkan’s lawyer says he is “cautiously optimistic” that Mertkan understands he was targeted by propaganda, according to the BBC. Prosecutors say he’s shown no remorse. Mertkan will serve eight months at a juvenile detention center for joining a terrorist organization and planning an attack.
