On Friday, November 7, a violent explosion occurred in a mosque inside a high school in the Indonesian capital Jakarta, leaving at least 54 people injured and hospitalized, most of whom were students. Preliminary investigations by the police suggest that this may have been a targeted attack, with a 17-year-old student identified as a suspect. Authorities are currently conducting a thorough investigation into the background and motives of the suspect.
According to local media reports, the explosion took place around 12:30 p.m. local time on Friday at the campus of SMA 72, a national high school in the Kelapa Gading district of North Jakarta. Many teachers and students were inside the mosque preparing for prayer when the incident occurred.
Eyewitnesses at the scene described hearing a loud bang at the moment of the explosion, shattering glass windows and filling the mosque with thick smoke. Students rushed out in panic, some crying while others stumbled in confusion.
Television footage showed that the school perimeter was cordoned off with police tape following the explosion. Multiple ambulances arrived at the scene, and special police forces were deployed as a precaution. Despite the explosion, the mosque did not appear to have suffered severe damage.
Asep Edi Suheri, the Chief of the Jakarta Special Region Police, reported in a press conference that a total of 54 injured individuals were taken to hospitals for treatment. Their injuries ranged from minor to severe, including burns, minor cuts from shattered glass, and injuries from the blast impact. Fortunately, there were no fatalities in the incident.
Suheri mentioned that the police had secured the area and dispatched a bomb disposal team to investigate and determine the cause of the explosion. It was also confirmed that a 17-year-old male student, who sustained serious injuries, was linked to the explosion. Authorities are currently probing his background and the motive behind the attack.
A student from the school informed the Indonesian news agency Antara News that the suspect was a classmate who had often been bullied by others, suggesting a possible retaliatory motive. Other students quoted in reports described the suspect as a loner who frequently created violent artwork.
During the on-site investigation, authorities discovered several suspicious items, including components for homemade explosives, remote controllers, and two toy guns. One of the toy guns was inscribed with the name of the perpetrator of a convicted mosque attack in New Zealand, “Brenton Tarrant,” along with the message “Welcome to Hell.”
Although no evidence linking the explosion to terrorism has been found yet, Indonesia’s counter-terrorism task force is assisting in the investigation to determine if the incident is terrorism-related.
This incident has garnered widespread attention in Indonesian society, prompting a large presence of media reporters rushing to the scene for coverage. Many citizens also gathered outside the school premises. However, Lodewijk Freidrich Paulus, the Deputy Minister of Political and Security Affairs in Indonesia, urged the public not to jump to conclusions and label the incident as a terrorist attack until the police investigation is completed.