Teen Arrested in Foiled Mass-Shooting Plot at Chicago-Area Hindu Temple
Alexandros Paporakis, 19, was arrested Sunday after police say he planned a mass shooting at a Hindu temple in Aurora, Illinois. Co-workers tipped off police after he sent them an alleged manifesto. His rifle jammed before he could fire.
A 19-year-old Taco Bell cashier was arrested Sunday after police say he planned to carry out a mass shooting at a Hindu temple outside Chicago. Alexandros Paporakis of Palatine, Illinois, faces felony charges of making a terrorist threat and unlawfully possessing weapons.
Investigators believe Paporakis meant to target the largest Hindu temple in Aurora, though the exact intended location is still under investigation. Officers arrested him as he left his home Sunday afternoon. They believe that was the day he planned to strike.
His co-workers turned him in. They told police he had sent them troubling messages — a document outlining an alleged attack plan and photos of tactical gear. He openly identified as a white supremacist at work, prosecutors said, and told co-workers he could not wait to kill Indian people. He had said Sunday would be "a special day."
Prosecutors said Paporakis called one co-worker Sunday and said his gun had jammed, and that he had left "super fast" without being seen. Police believe he had driven toward the temple with the rifle, which malfunctioned, and then went home.
Detectives recovered an AR-style rifle with no serial number, loaded magazines, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, body armor and a gas canister labeled with a slur aimed at South Asians, along with items bearing Nazi symbolism, police and prosecutors said.
They also found an eight-page document titled "Why I fought: A.K.A. (Aurora Shooter's Manifesto)," according to a court document obtained by the Associated Press. In it, Paporakis described Indian, Jewish and African American people as "subhumans" and outlined a plan to kill as many of them as possible. He called himself "a sociopathic white supremacist Neo Nazi filled with hatred," prosecutors said.
"The seriousness of this alleged threat cannot be overstated," Palatine Police Chief William Nord said Wednesday. Protecting places of worship is a law enforcement priority, he said.
A judge ordered Paporakis held in jail ahead of trial. His next court appearance is Oct. 30. It was not immediately clear whether he has a lawyer.
