Canadian teen admits to making bomb, planning attack in name of ISIS

A 17-year-old pled guilty to a series of terrorism-related charges that include making a bomb he planned to use against authorities or civilians in a Canadian court on Tuesday.

According to a release, an Ontario court, sitting as a youth court, saw the accused admit to four terrorism offenses under the criminal code, including facilitating a terrorist activity, possessing an explosive substance with the intent to endanger life or cause serious damage to property, doing anything with the intent to cause an explosion of an explosive substance that was likely to cause serious bodily harm or death, and counseling someone to detonate an explosive device in a public place to cause serious injury or death.

The youth cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, and was 16 years old at the time of his arrest on January 24, 2019.

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He also pled guilty to cutting his monitoring bracelet while on bail.

“He has remained in custody since that date,” according to a release from the Public Prosecution Service Canada (PPSC).

In an Agreed Statement of Facts filed with the court, the perpetrator admitted to manufacturing an explosive substance, Triacetone Triperoxide (TATP). TATP is a self-made explosive synthesized from the commonly used chemical acetone and hydrogen peroxide, according to a paper published in the journal Sensors.

The youth’s purpose was to place the device in a “public place or to place under a police or military vehicle with the intent of killing innocent people,” in the name of the Islamic State, better known as ISIS.

“A search of his residence resulted in the seizure of all the necessary materials to build an explosive device,” prosecutors said. “He also admitted to creating a PowerPoint presentation detailing the instructions on building a successful pressure cooker bomb, and disseminating it through various communications applications.”

After this, he also counseled an individual to build the device and place it in a bar, a public place, in order to kill innocent people.

“The charges required significant domestic and international cooperation to effectively gather the necessary evidence, as terrorism respects no borders,” PPSC Prosecutor Tom Lemon said in the release.

The youth will be sentenced at a later date, according to the release.