14-year-old under suspicion of terrorism: School planned on Cologne Christmas market!

14-year-old under suspicion of terrorism: School planned on Cologne Christmas market!

A worrying case from Cologne is currently causing a stir: A 14-year-old adolescent is suspected of having planned attacks on a Christmas market. As the Tagesschau reports, the public prosecutor's office in Cologne is investigating the German national, which had not yet become conspicuous. He is accused of having distributed both IS propaganda and specifically announced.

On Friday morning, the police searched the suspect's parents' home after references to his extremist activities became known. The State Criminal Police Office of North Rhine-Westphalia discovered Islamist content in its social media profiles. In particular, his Tikok profile, on which he published two videos and a contribution with references to the Islamic State, aroused the interest of the investigators.

radicalization about social media

The NRW Interior Minister Herbert Reul commented worried about the radicalization of young people on social media. Studies show that platforms such as Tikok and Instagram can play an increasingly central role in the radicalization process of young people. According to an investigation of the Federal Center for Political Education , young people are particularly susceptible to such extremist content, because they are often looking for Are identity and belonging. These radicalization tendencies, according to the expert: inside, can quickly turn into serious threats to society.

The Situation about the young people also raises questions about the preventive measures by the authorities. Critics call for a more intensive examination of the topic of radicalization in schools and social institutions. A better understanding of the circumstances under which young people get into extremist circles could help to stop this trend.

an isolated case or an alarming trend?

The investigation around the 14-year-old calls memories of other similar cases awake. At a time when the Islamic state and similar groups try to recruit offspring, the authorities must remain vigilant. The "Bild" newspaper was the first to report on the case, and thus focused on a topic that moves many: how dangerous are the influences from the Internet on our young people?

In addition to his aggressive online behavior, there was also indications that the young person was considering an departure to overseas. The authorities take this seriously and do everything they can to recognize and counteract possible dangers.

The developments remain exciting and we will continue to report on the progress of the investigation to keep our readers: to keep up to date. It is a topic that concerns us all - and where the question is in the room: How do we face today's challenges?