Teen charged in Germany on suspicion of synagogue attack plot

German prosecutors charged a 15-year-old terrorism suspect on Monday in relation to an alleged pyrotechnic attack on a synagogue.

Munich's General Prosecutor's Office charged the teenager with preparing a serious act of violence endangering the state, the intentional unauthorized handling of explosive materials, causing an explosion and causing grievous bodily harm, as well as other offences. 

The charge was filed with the juvenile lay magistrates' court at Augsburg District Court. The teenager is in pre-trial detention. 

The suspect is alleged to have stockpiled a large quantity of pyrotechnic materials aimed at carrying out an attack on a synagogue in particular. He is also alleged to have previously detonated a homemade explosive device for that purpose, the General Prosecutor's Office said last month.

The investigation has been under way since last late last year. The teenager is presumed innocent until the proceedings are concluded. His defence lawyer has so far rejected the allegation of a planned attack.

The teenager is alleged to have sympathized with the Islamic State terrorist organization, according to earlier statements by the General Prosecutor's Office.

He is alleged to have caused an explosion in October 2025. According to the Augsburger Allgemeine daily, the teenager, who is from the Augsburg district north-west of Munich, blew off two of his fingers with a professional-grade firework the size of a tennis ball, while a friend was slightly injured.