The Ottawa minor accused of planning a terror plot against the Jewish community allegedly had bomb-making materials in his possession when he was arrested on Friday, according to new reports.
The minor had originally been charged with facilitation of a terrorist activity “by communicating instructional material related to an explosive substance.” Additionally he was charged with “instructing, directly or indirectly, a person to carry out a terrorist activity against Jewish persons.”
The youth, who is not being identified due to his age, is now facing five charges related to terrorism and explosives. A detailed version of the charges obtained by the National Post shows that police discovered bomb-making materials in his possession when he was arrested. Those include “explosive substances” such as acetone, an unidentified oxidizer, and metal ball bearings.
The discovery led to the filing of a third charge for “knowingly” facilitating a terrorist activity by owning the bomb-making materials. He is also charged with illegal possession of explosive substances and doing so with the intent of endangering life.
National security expert and Carleton associate professor Stephanie Carvin told the Post that the materials involved suggested intent to cause damage. The materials are common in homemade bombs that are designed to injure nearby people with shrapnel.
“It is not easy to build an effective bomb,” Carvin said. “Undefined on what we know it’s hard to say what his capability is, if any. But certainly in terms of causing damage, causing casualties, an IED (improvised explosive device) with that kind of shrapnel might still be devastating, even if built by an amateur.”
Carvin added that it is likely that Canadian authorities were tipped off by their American counterparts with regard to his plans, given the suggestion that he was in communication with people in the U.S.
“It is extremely likely, if this individual was communicating with another individual in the United States, that the Americans may have picked this up and passed the tip on the RCMP because that’s very common,” she said.
The individual’s father told news outlets that he had warned his son to stay away from extremists but said that he may have been taken advantage of. “There are some people taking advantage of him,” the youth’s father said. “They are bad. They are not religious. They use religion. They use religion to achieve their goals, you know, their personal goals, private goals.”
The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) said it was thankful that law enforcement had foiled the alleged terror plot but remained concerned about a sharp increase in antisemitism since October 7.
Since #October7, the Jewish community has been raising our extreme concerns about the frightening rise in antisemitic incitement and hatred in #Canada ⁰⁰This is a staggering development of what unchecked #Antisemitism has become in our country.
It is also particularly… pic.twitter.com/2bxwd0pny6
— CIJA (@CIJAinfo) December 16, 2023
