A 16-year-old student has been detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) after the authorities uncovered his plans to attack two mosques and kill worshippers on March 15, the second anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. The teen aimed to emulate white supremacist Brenton Tarrant, who attacked two mosques in that New Zealand city, killing 51 people. In the Singapore case, the would-be attacker has become the first detainee inspired by far-right extremist ideology and the youngest person detained under the ISA for terrorism-related activities thus far. The shock of his plans is still sinking in. But there is a need to look beyond the shock - which is always unsettling whenever there have been disclosures of ISA detentions of misguided individuals conspiring against people here, or planning to fund or join up in a fight abroad.

The incident shows that the attractiveness of extremism, culminating in an act of terror, is not limited to any faith. Impressionable minds, particularly those which are young, can be drawn to regard violence as the final solution to their perceived problems. What amplifies this insidious attraction is the global reach of the Internet and social media. The Web has become a dangerous structure that can instantly transport ideology, views and events to receptive minds. It was the youth's access to incendiary material online that became key to his radicalisation. Tarrant's live-streamed attacks inspired the boy here.