Tip-off foiled US teen suspect's plot to attack Hindu temple, police say

US teen suspect's plot to attack Hindu temple foiled by tip-off from colleague

The full report

A 19-year-old US teenager, Alexandros Paporakis, has been charged with making a terrorist threat and unlawful possession of a weapon after a plot to attack a Hindu temple near Chicago was thwarted by a tip-off from one of his colleagues.

According to the BBC, Paporakis allegedly sent a message about the planned attack on Sunday to the co-worker, who alerted authorities. 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 that the tipster had received "concerning electronic communications" from Paporakis, which played a vital role in bringing the matter to the attention of law enforcement. The police chief also stated that 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. 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.

Police officers had searched Paporakis' home, where they found a rifle, loaded magazines, hundreds of rounds of rifle ammunition, and body armour. They also discovered an eight-page document by the suspect containing "extremist ideologies" and revealing his plans for an attack.