Family, friends had no clue about teen’s plans

The 16-year-old student who planned to attack Muslims here had spent time online researching hate material and sourcing weapons.

But his school friends and family had no clue of his online activities and anti-Muslim beliefs, the Internal Security Department said.

His source of inspiration was Australian white supremacist Brenton Tarrant, who killed 51 people in the Christchurch mosque attacks in 2019.

The teenager in Singapore had picked the second anniversary of the shootings in New Zealand – March 15 – to attack Muslims at two mosques here.

Dr Adrian Wang, a psychiatrist who runs his own practice at Gleneagles Medical Centre, said: “The differentiating factor is the fact that this boy is 16 – teenagers are impressionable and if they are socially isolated or lack self-confidence and don’t have close ties, he or she may be more easily influenced by online propaganda.”

He said online materials may give young people a false sense of purpose.

“It (the online community) becomes an echo chamber where they are not receiving any guidance from authority figures, ” added Dr Wang.

There are signs parents can look out for, such as increased isolation from family and friends.

Dr Natalie Pang, a senior lecturer in the communications and new media department at the National University of Singapore, listed others, such as strong beliefs and anger towards certain topics or groups, and spending long hours online while remaining secretive and unwilling to talk about their Internet usage.

“These are warning signs that should be taken seriously and the first step is to have someone that the child or youth trusts to talk to them, ” she added. — The Straits Times/ANN