Deadly attack on police station in Bosnia is act of terrorism, prosecutors say

A Bosnian police officer guards the local police station after a teenager broke in and killed one officer with a knife and injured another, in the town of Bosanska Krupa, 200 kilometers (120 miles) northwest of Sarajevo, Bosnia’s capital , on October 24. (AP)

SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Oct. 26 (AP) — The attack by a teenager who broke into a police station in northwestern Bosnia, killing one officer and wounding another, was described Friday as an act of terrorism by the authorities. The attack occurred on Thursday around 9:00 p.m. in the town of Bosanska Krupa. The attacker, born in 2009, entered the local police station and stabbed officers in a “completely unprovoked” attack, police said. Prosecutors working to determine the motive and full circumstances of the attack called it a terrorist attack.

They said the injured officer has been hospitalized and is in stable condition. “Unofficially, the motive is an attack on the institution, that is, on the police station as an authority, with the aim of intimidating the population,” said chief prosecutor Merima Mesanovic. “In addition to the motive, it will be checked whether he was encouraged to do this and if there is any extremist group behind him,” he added.

Local police chief Adnan Habibija said authorities are surprised that a 14-year-old boy “dared to enter the police station and attack police officers.” “I think this is an alarm and we as a society should ask ourselves what is happening here,” he said. Authorities said they could not release further details of the attack because the suspect is a minor. Authorities have increased security measures after the attack. A video from Bosanska Krupa showed a police officer standing on the street with a rifle. Bosanska Krupa is located about 200 kilometers (120 mi) northwest of the Bosnian capital, Sarajevo.