Medan – The young failed suicide bomber in Sunday's (28/08) Medan terror attack is believed to have met an identified man on the street prior to the event, preliminary investigations have found.
"We are still interrogating the suspect. He said someone he met on the street asked him to launched the attack," Medan Police Chief Comr. Mardiaz Khusin Dwihananto said.
Medan police is currently questioning the suspect, 17-year-old Ivan Armadi Hasugian, to investigate the link. "[Ivan] confessed he did not knew anything about the man's identity," Mardiaz said.
National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) chief Comr. Gen. Suhardi Alius told Beritasatu the suspect is only a "puppet," as he is too young to have planned the attack by his own. "Considering his young age, there has to be someone else who supports him. We are currently digging to seek his identity," Suhardi said.
The failed attack occurred while Father Albert S. Pandingan led the Sunday service at Medan's St. Yoseph church when the suspect ran towards to pulpit and attempted to kill the priest.
The bomb hidden in the suspect's vest failed to detonate, only creating sparks which injured the would-be attacker. The priest sustained only minor scratches to his arm and has been transferred to a hospital nearby the church.
Members of the church congregation seized the suspect, who was carrying a knife, an axe and a pipe bomb in his backpack, before police arrived to clear and secure the venue. There are no major casualties in the incident.