Action taken by officers from the UK Met’s Counter Terrorism Command (CTC) has helped to avert what may have been a potentially lethal attack at a school in Ukraine.
A public referral was made to the Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit on Thursday, 4 September, over concerns about an online post, which suggested an imminent attack was being planned by an individual in Ukraine. The referral was urgently reviewed and assessed and the information was swiftly passed through CTP International Operations to a Counter Terrorism Police Liaison Officer. Europol was then used to help alert authorities in Ukraine.
Following this, we understand further urgent enquiries were carried out in Ukraine, which resulted in the detention of a 15-year-old boy on the morning of Friday, 5 September, with various weapons and knives seized.
Commander Dominic Murphy, from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command said: “This was a truly remarkable piece of work by all those involved – both here in the UK as well as counterparts in Ukraine. The swift actions by our officers alerting Ukrainian counterparts has helped to avert what could have been a potentially devastating attack at a school in Ukraine. It’s all the more remarkable when you consider the incredible difficulties those in Ukraine are facing while fighting a war, but thanks to our collective efforts, lives have almost certainly been saved.
“Our close ties with international partners are a key part of our work in Counter Terrorism Policing and this case shows why that work is so important to tackling threats, wherever they might appear in the world. It also highlights the important role the public play and we would continue to encourage the public to flag any concerning material to us – as we’ve seen here, it could help save lives.”
The original announcement can be found here.