MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

School attack in Buenos Aires foiled by FBI tip

The suspect was active on social media about his intentions against his former high school

A Neo-Nazi teenager has been arrested in the middle-class Caballito neighborhood in Buenos Aires, where he was planning a school massacre, as the evidence garnered at the scene would corroborate. The suspect was making arrangements to strike his former high school, which were foiled following a tip from the FBI.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation in the United States alerted Argentine authorities about a social media user who had publicly expressed his intention to carry out a school shooting.

The specialized unit for cybercrime (UFECI) and the Anti-Terrorism Investigation Unit (DUIA) of the Argentine Federal Police (PFA) quickly traced the digital identity and physical location of the individual, identifying him as a 16-year-old living in Caballito.

The investigation linked the teen to neo-Nazi tendencies and an affinity for far-right and radical libertarian groups.

Federal Police executed a search warrant, seizing multiple items of interest, such as replica firearms, including pistols, a revolver, and a submachine gun, this one bearing the names of notorious mass shooters like Brenton Tarrant and Anders Breivik.

In addition, two knives, various types of ammunition, pepper spray, and Molotov-style incendiary devices were found. The suspect's digital devices were seized for forensic analysis, including a notebook containing a written plan for an attack in November.

The strategy involved creating a diversion at a nearby shopping center, then entering the school, posing as a police officer, isolating students in classrooms, and carrying out a shooting with the intention of causing “an act of extreme violence.”

The teen's social media activity on platforms like X (formerly Twitter) was central to the initial alert. He made explicit posts about committing a “massacre in November” at a specific educational institution. His online profile focused on glorifying massacres, spreading hate speech, and exalting Nazism, often interacting with other extremist profiles.

His ideological profile expressed contempt for unions, feminist movements, and social organizations, aligning with a radical individualism and viewing violence as a tool for personal affirmation.

Following his detention, the teen was charged with “Public Intimidation” and transported to the Forensic Medical Corps for a mandatory psychiatric evaluation to determine his mental state and fitness to stand trial. The case is being handled under protocols for the prevention of terrorist acts. This marks the tenth similar incident involving radicalized minors in Argentina in the last two years.