| Jakarta school bombing | |
|---|---|
| Location | 6°09′48″S106°53′05″E / 6.1633°S 106.8847°E Inside the mosque of SMA Negeri 72 Jakarta (Public Senior High School 72 Jakarta), Kelapa Gading, Jakarta, Indonesia |
| Date | 7 November 2025 c. 12.15 p.m. Western Indonesia Time (UTC+07:00) |
| Target | Congregation during Friday prayer at the school mosque (students and teachers), and later at the canteen [1] |
Attack type | School bombing |
| Weapons |
|
| Deaths | 0 |
| Injured | 97 (including the alleged perpetrator) [2] |
| Motive | Under investigation, [3] possibly:
|
| Accused | 17-year-old male student |
On the afternoon of 7 November 2025, a series of bomb explosions occurred in State High School 72 of Jakarta in Kelapa Gading, Jakarta, Indonesia, injuring 96 people. [a]
The bombings happened twice after a sermon just before the Muslim Friday prayer: the first explosion was inside the mosque, and the second in the canteen area. [5] [6] Soon after the incident, the school's area was surrounded and contained by the Mobile Brigade Corps (Brimob) at 1:45 p.m. Western Indonesia Time. [7]
The incident injured at least 96 people, and the victims were rushed to different hospitals around Jakarta. Some of them suffered mild burns and cuts from glass shards. [8]
The perpetrator's fate was initially disputed: he was reportedly shot to death at Ganesha Road, around 200 meters from the site, [7] although others claimed that he was killed by one of the bombs. [9] However, it was later confirmed that he was recovering in hospital and had undergone surgery. [10] He wore a white T-shirt with the words "Natural Selection" on it, black pants, and boots during his involvement. [11]
Initial news sources misreported that an explosion came from the public address system, or even gas cylinders within the mosque, based on victims' witness statements. [12]
The Deputy Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Lodewijk Freidrich Paulus stated an airsoft rifle, a revolver, and a tactical vest were found inside the mosque. [5] The rifle contained names of far-right terrorists, including Brenton Tarrant, Alexandre Bissonnette, and Luca Traini. [13] The gun had several English language writings, referencing alt-right rhetoric such as the 14 Words, symbol of the Romanian Iron Guard and the Latvian Waffen SS, as well as Agartha, which is connected to esoteric neo-Nazism. Written on the bolt cover was "Welcome to Hell". His t-shirt had the words "Natural Selection", a phrase worn on the T-shirt of Eric Harris, one of the perpetrators of the Columbine Shooting. [b] He is also known to have an interest in images of weapons and videos with violent themes. [6]
Polda Metro Jaya officially designated one suspect, a 12th-grade student referred to by the initial "F" (no full name has been released by the authorities), at the same school. [16] [17] [18] The suspect is classified as A Child in Conflict with the Law (ABH), meaning they are under 18 and subject to juvenile justice procedures, which focus on rehabilitation and guidance rather than criminal sanctions. [19] On November 21, Polda Metro Jaya told Antara that the suspect was not yet fit for questioning, saying that he "is still disoriented and occasionally incoherent, showing he has not fully recovered", and that "After medical clearance, investigators will proceed with formal questioning in coordination with the Probation Office, Social Services, and the Indonesian Child Protection Commission". [20]
No official motive has been confirmed. However, investigators found writings and drawings at both the crime scene and the suspect's residence, which indicate that the suspect has "feelings of dislike" that led to an "emotional pressure", but the exact nature of the "dislike" was not detailed by the police, and no definitive motive has been officially confirmed. [21] Diary of the perpetrator that confiscated by the police also recorded his constant bullying, social isolation, and his broken family condition leading him to spent himself in various gore sites and Terrorgram channels, where he exposed and immersed himself with various disturbing views of the world, right-wing extremist ideologies, right-wing terrorism, pro-school shooting and mosque shooting circles, particularly Columbine High School attack and Christchurch mosque attack, and other conspiracy theories and fringe sciences. [22] [23] [24] [25] As police revealed on 20 November 2025, most Terrorgram channels he followed already taken down by Telegram. [24] The diary of the perpetrator recorded his school attack plan and sketches of his school, as well his fears and trauma, as well his suicidal ideations. [24]
Polda Metro Jaya stated that the suspect had no links to any terrorist organizations and that the attack had been planned and carried out independently. [26] However, spokesman of Detachment 88 AKBP Mayndra Eka Wardana claimed that 7 right-wing extremists who perpetrated their own attacks had inspired his bombing: Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, Dylann Roof, Alexandre Bissonnette, Vladislav Roslyakov, Brenton Tarrant, and Natalie Lynn Rupnow (all of them espoused either white supremacism or Neo-Nazism). [c] [27]
This incident sparked concern from various parties, including the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education and the local government of Jakarta. A psychological recovery team was deployed to provide support to traumatized students, teachers, and school staff. Authorities urged the public not to spread speculation and to await the results of the official police investigation. [28] Minister of State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi said that President Prabowo Subianto expressed deep concern over the incident and stressed the importance of taking swift action to ensure the safety of the victims. [29] Authorities urged the public not to spread speculation and to await the results of the official police investigation. Prabowo Subianto, through State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi, stated that the government was considering restrictions on weapon-themed video games, which were considered a contributing factor to the explosion. [30] Prasetyo referred to the game PUBG: Battlegrounds as dangerous for children. [31] The minister of Communication and Digital Affairs Meutya Hafid said that the results of the Komdigi team's study found elements of violence and even crime in the PUBG game. [32]
On 23 December 2025, a teenager was captured in Garut for harboring both far right-extremist and/or far left-extremist ideologies and spreading bomb-making, weapon-making, and bullet-making materials. [33] He spread the materials in a far-right terrorist Whatsapp-based group and had successfully manufactured bombs and bullets, which were confiscated by the police. [34] [35] Locals revealed that the captured teenager was "gifted and a genius" and had mastered 7 languages, and often spoke in Japanese and Arabic. [34] While the connection to the Jakarta school bomber is unknown, both have espoused similar Neo-Nazi views and ideologies and capabilities for bomb-making. [36]
On 28 December 2025, based on his research and findings, Al Chaidar, a terrorism researcher from Malikussaleh University, estimated that the Neo-Nazi network in Indonesia is around 300 men strong and almost all are under 17 years old, which he noted as strategy for their Neo-Nazi terror recruiters so the future attackers cannot be criminalized or put into adult judiciary if they committed the acts as "juvenile terrorists", and are thus given much lesser sentences. Al Chaidar recommended the government to expand their deradicalization program to not only cover Islamic terrorism, but also other dangerous extreme ideologies. He also recommended a government ideological mapping program to be developed further to map such extreme ideologies as the government did for Islamist extremism. [37] On 30 December 2025, criminologists of the National Counter Terrorism Agency (BNPT) voiced similar concerns and requests for the BNPT to increase concerns regarding far-right terrorism, despite the reluctance of the BNPT to classify the incident as terrorism. According to the BNPT, the attack lacked the organization and features of terrorism to classify it as such when compared to Islamic terrorism, which is more common in Indonesia. [38]
Following investigation into the Jakarta school bomber's internet circles, on 30 December 2025, police revealed there were 68 children and teenagers from 18 provinces also connected to him through a Telegram community known as the "True Crime Community", where they were exposed to white supremacism and Neo-Nazi ideologies. [39] Police also revealed that 20 planned school attacks subsequent to the Jakarta school bombing had been prevented and averted by Densus 88 cyber patrols and proactive preventions. [40] Police also uncovered 5 individuals that formed an unnamed Neo-Nazi network, which planned to indoctrinate 110 children and teenagers from 23 provinces by recruiting them through the Telegram community and violent video games. [41] [42]
On 7 January 2026, Police revealed 70 children and teenagers from 19 provinces had been secured by Police, due to connections to Neo-Nazi and far-right extremist ideologies through various groups associated with Terrorgram. 27 of them were located in Jakarta and West Java. The ages of those secured varied from 11 to 18, with the majority of them being 7th to 9th graders. All were capable of creating makeshift weaponry and pipe bombs and were also capable of arming themselves for sudden attacks. Some had already created plans for attacks on schools, involving methods such as mapping and disabling CCTV systems, planting bombs in classrooms, and how to kill their own classmates and teachers. One suspect was able to produce detailed manuals and tutorials for bomb-making in English. As they are juveniles and had yet to carry out any attacks, Police chose to assess, map, and send them for counselling as preventive measures. [43] [44] [45] On the same day, Police found the connection between the bombing with Odintsovo school attack that happened on 16 December 2025. On the knife handle used by the Timofey Kulyamov, perpetrator of Odintsovo school attack, the words "2025 Jakarta Bombing" were written, referring the Jakarta school bombing. [46] [47]
Police also announced a list of 27 Indonesian Neo-Nazi Terrorgram circles, on 7 January 2026.
Sources also said, Indonesian Neo-Nazi circles got connections with Malaysian Neo-Nazi far-right groups. Such as Nusantarist, Malay Power 1388, Darah & Maruah Tanah Melayu and Nusantarawingism. Including few of the infamous Malaysian Neo-Nazi activists, Karl, Zordiel, Alek, who promoted Anti-Rohingya sentiments and Malay supremacism online. [48]
Authorities stressed it is too early to determine whether the inscriptions suggest an ideological motive. Investigators are continuing to gather and verify evidence.