A 14-year-old teenager indicted for a planned attack against a Lille shopping center

Europe 1 with AFP // Photo credit: Loic Venance/AFP 8:48 p.m., March 22, 2024

A 14-year-old teenager was indicted in Paris on Friday, suspected of having planned an attack against a shopping center in Lille, said the national anti-terrorism prosecutor's office (Pnat), confirming information from BFM-TV. “He is accused of having shared propaganda from the Islamic State, a terrorist organization whose ideology he clearly shared,” said the Pnat.

Indicted for terrorist conspiracy

“He would also have considered committing an attack, in particular, against a shopping center.” According to BFM-TV, he had retrieved plans for the Euralille shopping center from the internet and had also considered an attack within his college. According to a source close to the matter at AFP, this project against his college had been abandoned.

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The young man was arrested on Wednesday in the North, while police officers were carrying out a home visit at his home, according to the same source. Placed in police custody, he was presented to an anti-terrorism investigating judge who indicted him for terrorist conspiracy with a view to preparing one or more crimes of harm to persons, according to the Pnat. He was also indicted for direct provocation of an act of terrorism committed by means of an online communication service.

He was placed under judicial supervision, as requested by the Pnat. Investigations are continuing “to verify the status of the violent action project(s),” said the Pnat. “Once again, the intelligence services of the Ministry of the Interior demonstrate their effectiveness in the face of the terrorist threat,” reacted Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin on X (ex-Twitter).