A Taco Bell cashier’s alleged plot for a mass shooting at a Hindu temple near Chicago was thwarted by a tip-off from one of his colleagues, investigators say.
Alexandros Paporakis, 19, from Palatine, Illinois, appeared in court on Wednesday charged with one count of making a terrorist threat and one count of unlawful possession of a weapon.
Paporakis allegedly sent a message about the planned attack on Sunday to the co-worker, who alerted authorities, officials said.
Police said they found writings in which Paporakis identified as a white supremacist and wrote about his hatred for non-white people.
Palatine police chief William Nord said on Thursday they were notified about a mass shooting plot on Sunday by someone who had received “concerning electronic communications” from Paporakis.
“These communications played a vital role in bringing this matter to the attention of law enforcement,” said the police chief.
According to CBS, the BBC’s US partner, prosecutors said the tipster had worked with Paporakis.
Nord said a red Honda RDX registered to Paporakis entered the car park of a “known Hindu temple” in the suburb of Aurora at Sunday lunchtime.
The suspect allegedly tried to open fire, but the gun jammed, so he drove home, where he lived with his mother.
According to NBC Chicago, Paporakis told his colleague over phone messages that his gun had jammed and he got out of there “super-fast”.
Once home, he “searched internet trying to learn how to unjam his gun & called a colleague informing them of [his] intent to carry out a mass shooting”, reports NBC Chicago.
He is thought to have acted alone.
The police chief said officers had searched Paporakis’ home, where they found a rifle, loaded magazines, hundreds of rounds of rifle ammunition and body armour.
Nord said they also discovered an eight-page document by the suspect containing “extremist ideologies” and revealing his plans for an attack.
In the writings, he described himself as a “sociopathic white supremacist neo-Nazi”, according to CBS.
Police have questioned Paporakis’ mother, who was said to be unco-operative.
The Hindu temple identified by local media as the intended target said it had implemented new security measures.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs said the incident “adds to growing concerns over racist hostility and anti-India hate in the US”.
US congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois said he was “horrified” by the incident.
In a Facebook statement, he said he and his family worship at the temple and were there last Sunday.
The Chicago metropolitan area is home to one of the biggest Indian-American populations in the US.
