16-Year-Old Becomes Youngest Canadian Sentenced for Terrorism

A 16-year-old Canadian boy, whose family immigrated from Algeria in 2003, has been sentenced to two years in detention by a Canadian court for robbing a convenience store with plans to use the money for a trip to Syria, so he could join the Islamic State.

“The boy, whose name has been withheld because of his age, admitted to robbing a convenience store in 2014, though he denied he planned to use the funds to finance a trip to Syria. He had been reported to the authorities by his own father, who grew concerned after he found a bag with a mask, knife, and money behind the family home,” reports Deutsche Welle.

Prosecutors said the haul from the convenience store robbery amounted to about $1,680 U.S. The robbery was perpetrated with a knife. The would-be jihadi was 15 years old at the time and is the youngest person ever brought up on terrorism charges in Canada.

The UK Guardian reported the teen “had also befriended the suspect in last October’s killing of a Canadian soldier in a rural Quebec hit and run, days before a gunman shot dead a ceremonial guard in Ottawa and stormed parliament.”

Israel National News cited local media reports of expert court testimony that claimed the teenager had “started to renounce radicalism.” He is said to have already been incarcerated for some other crime, so his terrorism detention will be served consecutively, followed by a 12-month probation.