A 19-year-old American who expressed white supremacist views has been arrested on the day United States police believe he tried to attack a Hindu place of worship.
Police in the state of Illinois say they have thwarted a potential mass shooting and arrested Alexandros Paporakis, a Taco Bell cashier from the Chicago suburb of Palatine.
Prosecutors say he told colleagues he “couldn’t wait” to kill Indian people.
The case comes amid mounting concern among Indian Americans about hostility towards their community, fuelled by bitter political fights over immigration and skilled-worker visas.
So what do we know about the alleged plot, and is anti-Indian racism really on the rise in the US?
What happened?
Investigators say they believe Paporakis planned to attack the largest Hindu temple in Aurora, about 40 miles (65km) southwest of the Chicago suburb of Palatine in Illinois.
“However, the specific intended location has not been confirmed and remains under investigation,” police said.
Paporakis allegedly told colleagues that Sunday would be “a special day”.
According to prosecutors, a work colleague told investigators that Paporakis telephoned him on Sunday afternoon, saying his gun had jammed, ABC7 Chicago reported. He allegedly told his coworker he had left “super fast” without being seen.
He allegedly sent a video of the rifle failing to fire and said he wanted to try again once it was repaired, Fox 32 Chicago reported.
Two co-workers called police. Officers from Palatine and neighbouring Mount Prospect then arrested him as he left his home.
“The seriousness of this alleged threat cannot be overstated,” said Palatine Police Chief William Nord.
Paporakis faces felony charges of “making a terrorist threat” and “unlawful possession of a weapon”.
On Wednesday, a judge ordered him to be held in jail before a trial.
What more do we know about the suspect?
Prosecutors say Paporakis openly described himself to colleagues at work as a white supremacist.
He allegedly sent a co-worker 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 news agency.
It described Indian, Jewish and Black people as “subhumans” and set out a plan to kill as many of them as possible.
In it, he allegedly referred to himself as “a sociopathic white supremacist Neo Nazi filled with hatred, fantasising about mass murder nearly every day”.
According to prosecutors, he wrote that he had been planning the attack for two years and had researched his target using YouTube and Google Street View, Fox 32 reported.
Prosecutors also said he had mental health issues and lived with his mother, according to ABC7.
A search of his home turned up an AR-style rifle without a serial number, loaded magazines, a gas canister labelled with a slur aimed at South Asians and items bearing Nazi symbolism. (Al Jazeera)
The post US teen held over Hindu temple attack plot appeared first on Newswire.