An 18-year-old Amsterdam youth will appear in court next week charged with planning to carry out a school shooting.

The youngster, named by the Parool as Mitchell O, was picked up in early December after placing a video on YouTube saying he was making preparations to shoot at a school.

The video, in English, was sufficient reason for police to arrest him, the Parool said. He was found to be in possession of ‘one or more firearms and knives’ and also owned a balaclava, the paper said. On his phone were films of school shootings, bomb attacks and other incidents.

A spokesman for the public prosecution department stressed that the teenager had not said any particular school was a target.

Next week’s hearing is a procedural one to decide if the youth should be held for a further three months while the investigation continues.