Limburg – Belgian police have arrested six minors suspected of plotting an attack on a school in Hasselt. All suspects are students at that same school.

According to police and prosecutors, local police in the Limburg provincial capital received reports several weeks ago from multiple administrators of a school in Hasselt. They had spotted threatening messages in a group on TikTok. Police immediately launched an investigation and, with the help of an internet service provider, were able to identify the six anonymous users in that TikTok group on the very same day. At the request of the Limburg public prosecutor’s office, the six suspects were arrested that day.

Investigations revealed that the suspects had discussed arson and “the use of chemical substances to attack the school and school staff” in the group. The chat history also contained references to “school shootings, extremist organisations and violent incidents.” Limburg police and prosecutors stressed that they take such threats extremely seriously. Thanks to the swift action, it was prevented that the school would become the target of an attack just days later.

Limburg police commissioner Philip Pilar told Het Laatste Nieuws that the Limburg prosecutor’s office had swiftly issued the necessary arrest warrants, allowing police to act without delay. All six minors were brought before the juvenile courts of Hasselt and Tongeren on Monday.

Police and prosecutors emphasise that minors must be aware of the online groups they join. “They and society as a whole must understand that spreading extremist messages and threats is absolutely unacceptable, and that police and judicial authorities will deal with this severely,” a spokesperson said.

The incident has once again drawn attention to young people’s online behaviour and school safety. In recent years, cases of extremist rhetoric and violent threats on social media have become increasingly common. How to effectively protect minors from radical content remains a shared challenge for all countries.