Jakarta High School Mosque Blast Injures Dozens — Police Probe Possible White Supremacist Links

Jakarta high school mosque blast under investigation

Indonesian police said officers recovered explosive powder, handwritten materials and a toy submachine gun from the home of a 17-year-old suspect following two blasts that rocked a mosque at SMAN 72, a state high school in Jakarta's Kelapa Gading neighborhood.

National Police Chief Listyo Sigit, who visited the wounded and the suspect in hospital, said the teenager was among the 54 people injured in Friday's explosions and remains under medical care. The suspect was one of two students undergoing surgery for injuries sustained in the incident.

"The suspect's condition has improved, and hopefully this will make it easier for us to question him after he recovers," Sigit said. "However, we will not stop here. We will continue to investigate whether other individuals or groups were involved."

At least two loud blasts occurred around midday just as the Friday sermon began inside the mosque at SMAN 72, a school located within a navy residential complex. Witnesses said worshippers fled in panic as gray smoke filled the prayer room. Jakarta Police Chief Asep Edi Suheri said investigators believe the explosions originated near the mosque's loudspeaker but had not immediately identified the exact type of explosive.

Many students standing close to the loudspeaker suffered hearing loss; about 29 students remained hospitalized the following day with burns and other injuries.

Police reported recovering a toy submachine gun from the suspect that was inscribed with what authorities described as apparent white supremacist slogans and the names of two neo‑Nazis convicted of deadly attacks in Canada and Italy. Investigators said they were probing whether the items indicate links to extremist or hate groups, while also exploring local reports that the suspect — a 12th‑grade student — had been bullied and may have intended the explosion as an act of revenge.

Ridlwan Habib, an intelligence and terrorism analyst at the University of Indonesia, said the teen had reportedly been frequently bullied and may have sought to imitate international extremists after intensive online searches: "This is the first time in Indonesia that an attack has occurred inside a school carried out by a 17‑year‑old student and the target was his own friends," he said.

Neighbors described the suspect as introverted and unsociable. "He's a quiet person who often stayed in his room and played with his cellphone and laptop," neighbor Danny Rumondor said, adding that the boy lived with his father and older sister and that his parents divorced more than seven years ago.

Police emphasized they had not yet classified the incident as a terrorist attack and said they would continue to investigate potential motives and any wider networks or influences. Authorities are seeking to question the suspect once he is medically able to provide a statement.