Police in Palatine, Illinois, say they stopped a potential mass shooting Sunday, arresting 19-year-old Alexandros Paporakis as he left his home, the same day detectives believe he may have planned to attack.
Investigators believe he was targeting the largest Hindu temple in Aurora, Illinois, though the intended location is still under investigation. Co-workers at the Taco Bell where he worked told police he openly identified as a white supremacist, said he couldn’t wait to kill Indian people, and sent them photos of tactical gear and a document outlining a mass shooting plan.
In his home, police say they found an AR-style rifle with no serial number, loaded magazines, a gas canister labeled with an anti-South Asian slur, and Nazi imagery. He faces felony charges of making a terrorist threat and unlawful weapons possession, and a judge ordered him held in jail pending trial.