He was researching how to manufacture weapons and chemical devices to carry out a massacre at a high school in Pescara, similar to the 1999 Columbine High School shooting in Colorado . He was apparently inspired by information acquired and exchanged on the Telegram group "Werwolf Division," the white supremacist hub that glorifies the 2011 terrorist attacks in Oslo and Utoya and the 2019 mosque massacres in Christchurch, New Zealand.
The alleged terrorist, who appears to have spread images, videos, memes, and stickers linked to the 'saints of terror' - the perpetrators of those and other mass massacres - is a seventeen-year-old from Pescara and resident in the province of Perugia, arrested by the Carabinieri of the ROS for the crimes of propaganda and incitement to crime on the grounds of racial, ethnic, and religious discrimination, as well as for possession of material for terrorist purposes .
The operation took place in Abruzzo, Emilia Romagna, Umbria, and Tuscany and also involved seven other minors . Examination of their seized smartphones and computers will be crucial to clarifying their roles. Child pornography videos and footage have already been discovered on the arrested seventeen-year-old's cell phone.
An undergrowth of delirium and violence, deemed extremely dangerous by investigators. A meticulous investigation, coordinated by the Juvenile Prosecutor's Office of L'Aquila—based on previous investigations by the Brescia Prosecutor's Office, concluded in 2025, into individuals belonging to a network inspired by neo-Nazi and white supremacist ideologies —led to the pre-trial detention order for the 17-year-old.
Apparently, the boy, who was seeking information on manufacturing firearms, also collected documents containing technical information on dangerous chemical and bacteriological substances and handbooks on sabotaging essential public services , all with a clear terrorist intent. Furthermore, according to investigations, the minor participated in groups dedicated to apologia for the Holocaust, genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity . Furthermore, he propagated theories promoting sexism, misogyny, and opposition to feminism.
But he's not the only one in the dense network uncovered by the Carabinieri Special Operations Group: seven searches were carried out on as many minors in the provinces of Teramo, Pescara, Perugia, Bologna, and Arezzo. All are part of an international network of neo-Nazi and white supremacist groups and social media channels , and are being investigated for propaganda and incitement to crime based on racial, ethnic, and religious discrimination.
"The arrest of the seventeen-year-old confirms that we need to work on the use of social media," reiterated Minister of Education and Merit, Giuseppe Valditara . "It confirms that we must consider the issue of social media with great care, probably also working with the major companies, with the various operators of these networks, to find solutions together, because the ban on minors isn't the only issue."
Regarding the limit on social media use , he commented, "I think the bill they're debating in Parliament is very balanced, that is, a ban up to age 14. This is more or less what's being done in other countries as well; in Australia it's set at 16, but generally speaking, it's set at 14. There's also the issue of privacy that needs to be resolved, a serious, objective problem that, however, in my opinion, can be overcome. It's an issue we must address with great urgency and a great sense of responsibility."
(Unioneonline)
