British teen gets life sentence for plotting to bomb Elton John concert

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ABC/Randy HolmesA British teenager has been sentenced to life in prison for plotting to bomb an Elton John concert on the anniversary of the September 11 attacks.

According to U.K. newspaper the Telegraph, 19-year-old Haroon Syed attempted to obtain a suicide vest or machine gun with the idea of attacking attendees at John’s concert in London’s Hype Park on September 11, 2016.

Syed, who hails from West London, was apprehended via the work of British Security Service officers posing as fellow extremists online. Syed admitted plotting the terrorist act between April and September of last year. His older brother was previously arrested and given a life sentence for plotting a similar attack on the U.K.’s Remembrance Day, which British officials believe led to the younger’s man own radicalization.

Syed had apparently become a follower of jailed Islamic religious leader Anjem Choudary, but the teen’s attorney told the court Syed had now rejected those beliefs and condemned the recent attack at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester. However, the judge handed down a discretionary life sentence and ordered Syed to serve a minimum of 16 and a half years behind bars.

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