A 15-year-old boy accused of planning a terrorist attack on Vienna’s Westbahnhof station is due to appear before the Vienna Regional Court on Monday under tight security. The teenager, described as a suspected supporter of the Islamic State (IS), has been held in pre-trial detention since February.
According to prosecutors, the student had been studying IS ideology intensively since August 2024, acquiring and distributing propaganda material and seeking out bomb-making tutorials via Telegram channels.
The indictment alleges that the boy communicated multiple times with an IS operative, to whom he pledged allegiance between 5 and 7 February. He reportedly declared his intention to launch an attack in Vienna during the summer of 2025 using explosives, firearms, or knives. Targets included “infidels and police officers,” and the plan also considered the possibility of hostage-taking.
He is charged with preparing a terrorist act and participating in both a terrorist and a criminal organisation.
