A 16-year-old teenage boy, hailing from Singapore, was detained last month as he was planning to attack two mosques in the city-state on the anniversary of New Zealand’s Christchurch attacks that killed 51, security officials said, reports AFP. 

Arrested under the Internal Security Act (ISA), the 16-year-old had made “detailed plans and preparations” to use a machete on March 15, two years after the massacre of Muslim worshippers in New Zealand by an Australian white supremacist, Brenton Tarrant.  

Singapore’s internal security department, in a statement, said that the youth, a Protestant Christian of Indian ethnicity, was influenced by Tarrant’s actions and manifesto, which was clear from his attack plans and preparations.

Tarran was last year sentenced to life in prison without parole after he killing worshippers in attacks on two mosques during Friday prayers. 

The student, who watched the livestream video of the Christchurch attack on March 15, 2019, had prepared statements to be released before the attacks, they said, adding that one of them was “borrowed heavily from Tarrant’s manifesto,” while another described the Australian as a “saint” and the attacks as “justifiable.” 

“He had also watched Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) propaganda videos, and came to the erroneous conclusion that ISIS represented Islam, and that Islam called on its followers to kill non-believers,” an ISD release said.

Following the lines of Tarrant, the 16-year-old intended to live stream the attack he was planning and drive between the targeted sites, reports AFP. The teenager is now arrested under a tough security law that allows detention without trial. 

The teen, who opted for machete after failing to buy a gun, had also explored making a bomb and planned to set fire to the targeted mosques.