Teen accused of plotting attack on LGBTQ+ students among three arrested

A 19-year-old student accused of planning a knife attack on LGBTQ+ classmates is among three teenagers arrested in Singapore.

While the cases are unrelated, Singapore’s Internal Security Department (ISD) said each teenager had independently adopted extremist beliefs and made preparations for attacks before being detained under the country’s Internal Security Act. The boys, aged 14, 15 and 19, were arrested between April and June.

The oldest of the three, Tan Jun Jie, allegedly planned to target LGBTQ+ students at his tertiary institution as well as Singapore Armed Forces personnel stationed at Sembawang Air Base. Investigators said Tan converted to Islam in 2022 after encountering religious content online before later consuming ISIS propaganda.

The alleged plot targeting LGBTQ+ students

By late 2025, authorities allege he had come to believe that “armed violence was permissible against [disbelievers]”, including Shi’ite Muslims, Muslims whose beliefs differed from his own, people working for secular governments and LGBTQ+ people.

The ISD said Tan researched knife-fighting techniques, identified a 10cm blade he intended to buy from a hardware shop and viewed carrying out attacks in Singapore as an alternative if he could not travel overseas to join ISIS.

He is also accused of attempting cyber-attacks against the websites of Muslim organisations he considered “deviant” by launching distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks. Singapore police are separately investigating those alleged offences.

How was the alleged plot uncovered?

Authorities said acquaintances reported Tan after becoming concerned by his increasingly extreme views and discussions about carrying out violence.

A second case centres on a boy who is now 14. Investigators allege he began consuming violent extremist material aged 12, eventually becoming immersed in a mixture of ISIS propaganda, neo-Nazi ideology, anti-Semitic material and content glorifying mass shooters.

The teenager also developed an interest in the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, in which 49 people were murdered at an LGBTQ+ venue. According to the ISD, he later came to believe that extremist interpretations of Islam justified killing LGBTQ+ people while simultaneously embracing white supremacist beliefs, viewing himself as superior because of his lighter skin tone.

The alleged plan to attack a secondary school

Investigators allege the boy spent months planning a stabbing attack at his secondary school during the June holidays. They said he wrote a 21-page manifesto, compiled a target list, intended to livestream the assault, pledge allegiance to ISIS during the attack and then take his own life. He was arrested in May after warning signs were reported by people at his school, a month before the alleged attack was due to take place.

The third teenager, aged 15, allegedly pledged allegiance to ISIS online and planned an attack inspired by the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. The ISD said he wanted to establish an Islamic caliphate in Southeast Asia through violence.

Announcing the three detentions, the ISD said the cases illustrate how violent extremist material circulating on social media, gaming platforms and other online spaces can contribute to young people becoming self-radicalised. The agency also credited friends, relatives and members of school communities with reporting concerns before any of the alleged plots could be carried out.