4 young people chatted in Germany about attack plans – pre-trial detention

Three accused from North Rhine-Westphalia and one accused from Baden-Württemberg are said to have discussed attack plans in the chat group, said North Rhine-Westphalian Interior Minister Herbert Reul on Friday in Düsseldorf. According to the responsible prosecution authorities, all four were taken into custody.

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They are accused, among other things, of preparing a serious act of violence that endangers the state. The public prosecutor’s office in Düsseldorf is also investigating the three young people from North Rhine-Westphalia because of their willingness to commit murder and manslaughter, as the authority announced. Those arrested are a 15-year-old from Düsseldorf, a 15-year-old from Lippstadt in the Soest district and a 16-year-old from Iserlohn in the Märkisches district. According to the information, the Düsseldorf district court had already issued the arrest warrants on the Easter weekend.

Attack plans discussed in the chat

The investigation was triggered by findings from the state security police in Hagen, as Reul said. The state protectors therefore carried out an investigation against the 16-year-old from Iserlohn. In a chat with the 15-year-old from Düsseldorf, she initially discussed her intentions to travel to the area of ​​the “Islamic State” (IS) jihadist militia.

When evaluating the confiscated cell phone, the investigators discovered another chat with other participants in which the attack plans were discussed, as Reul continued. Accordingly, Dortmund, Düsseldorf and Cologne were mentioned as possible attack locations.

After the girls were arrested, the attack plans became more concrete – now the other participants also mentioned churches or synagogues as targets. The Düsseldorf police took over the further investigation together with the State Criminal Police Office and the police in Hagen, as Reul said. This meant that the 15-year-old from Lippstadt could also be arrested.

“Huge social challenge”

The 16-year-old was finally arrested in the Esslingen district in Baden-Württemberg. According to the public prosecutor’s office in Stuttgart, he is being investigated on suspicion of preparing a serious act of violence that endangers the state. He has been in custody since April 2nd on an arrest warrant.

Reul praised the speedy investigation work. “The security authorities did a very good job and I am also grateful that they acted so quickly and decisively,” said Reul. Only five days passed from the first discovery to the arrest. However, the young age of the suspects also leaves him “speechless,” emphasized Reul. In this context, “we are faced with a huge challenge for society as a whole.”