Canada: arrest of a teenager in Montreal for a planned terrorist attack

In Canada, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) announced on Friday the arrest in Montreal of a teenager suspected of preparing an attack against a school establishment. The investigation, entrusted to the department responsible for the fight against terrorism, was opened “a few weeks ago following intelligence shared by the FBI”, according to the Canadian police.

According to the RCMP, the young man, presented as close to the “neo-Nazi movement”, “was planning an attack in a school located in Montreal”. The spokesperson for the RCMP in Montreal, Erique Gasse, told AFP that he would have used artificial intelligence to prepare his project and formulated threats targeting in particular the Muslim, Haitian and LGBT+ communities.

A collaboration with the FBI

The information behind the investigation was transmitted by the FBI, the American federal police, which has offices in Canada. Canadian authorities are now continuing their investigations as part of the fight against terrorism.

The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) believes that “violent extremism continues to pose a significant threat to Canada’s national security.” According to its data, 20 terrorist attacks have been committed in the country since 2014, leaving 29 dead and at least 60 injured.