FBI Announces Teen's Foiled Plot to Attack Pope During U.S. Visit

The FBI released a statement this week announcing that it had successfully foiled a plot by an Islamic State-inspired teen to attack Pope Francis during his U.S. visit later this month.

The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security announced in a statement that the teen had planned an elaborate attack of the religious figure that included multiple firearms.

"The minor was inspired by [ISIS] and sought to conduct a detailed homeland attack which included multiple attackers, firearms, and multiple explosives, targeting a foreign dignitary at a high-profile event," a joint statement from the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security read.

As the International Business Times reports, the "foreign dignitary" was later identified as the pope by ABC News.

According to ABC News, the suspect is a 15-year-old teenager who had reportedly been inspired to carry out a lone-wolf attack after receiving influence from the Syria-based Islamic State terror group.

"The minor obtained explosives instructions and further disseminated these instructions through social media," the statement added.

The pope is expected to make his first visit to the United State later in September, when he will visit Philadelphia and New York City.

The statement released by the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security touched on that fact that the Islamic State is successfully targeting minors in the U.S. to carry out these lone-wolf attacks.

"These incidents also show that some U.S.-based youth are willing to connect over social media with like-minded persons, and have proven adept at obfuscating such social media usage from their parents and guardians," the statement added.