Teen’s deadly attack at Bosnia police station is act of terrorism, prosecutors say

A teenager, 14, broke into a police station and stabbed officer, killing one and wounding another

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Bosnian police officers guard the local police station after a teenager broke and killed one officer with a knife and wounded another, in the town of Bosanska Krupa. Photo: AP

Published: 6:52pm, 25 Oct 2024

An attack by a teenager who broke into a police station in northwest Bosnia – killing one officer and wounding another – was described as an act of terrorism by authorities on Friday.

The assault happened around 9pm in the town of Bosanska Krupa on Thursday. The assailant, born in 2009, went into the local police station and stabbed the officers in a “totally unprovoked” attack, police said.

Prosecutors working to determine the motive and all the circumstances of the attack characterised it as a terrorist assault. They said the injured officer has been hospitalised and is in a stable condition.

“Unofficially, the motive is an attack on the institution, i.e. the police station as an authority with the aim of intimidating the population,” chief prosecutor Merima Mesanovic said. “In addition to the motive, it will be checked whether he was encouraged to do this and whether there are any extreme groups behind him,” she added.

Prosecutors working to determine the motive and all the circumstances of the police station attack characterised it as a terrorist assault. Photo: AP

Local police chief Adnan Habibija said the authorities are surprised that a 14-year-old “dared to enter the police station and attack the police officers”.