German court convicts a 15-year-old of planning an extremist attack on a Christmas market

BERLIN (AP) — A German court has convicted a 15-year-old boy of plotting an Islamic extremist attack on a Christmas market and given him a four-year sentence. The Cologne state court said Friday the boy was convicted of conspiracy to murder and disturbing the public peace by threatening crimes. The teenager was detained in November near Cologne. The court found that he became radicalized last fall and, within a few weeks, had agreed with a 16-year-old acquaintance to attack a Christmas market in Leverkusen. The plan was for the defendant to drive a rented truck into the market and kill as many visitors as possible, while his accomplice was to film the attack.