PALATINE, Ill. – A 19-year-old man is facing felony charges after police uncovered an alleged plan for a mass shooting that investigators believe may have targeted a Hindu place of worship in the Aurora area.
Alleged mass shooting plot snuffed out by police
Alexandros Paporakis | Palatine Police Department
What we know:
Alexandros Paporakis was arrested Sunday, Oct. 11, and charged with making a terrorist threat, a Class X felony, and unlawfully possessing a rifle with a barrel shorter than 16 inches, a Class 3 felony.
According to prosecutors, Paporakis worked as a cashier at a Taco Bell in Arlington Heights for about seven months. A co-worker told investigators that Paporakis regularly made disparaging comments about people of other races, particularly people from India, openly identified as a white supremacist and frequently discussed Nazis and armed struggle.
The co-worker told prosecutors that Paporakis’ rhetoric intensified in the days leading up to the alleged plot.
On Saturday, Paporakis allegedly told the co-worker he could not wait to kill Indian people and said he was planning an attack at the largest Hindu temple in Aurora. He allegedly said he would use a large amount of ammunition. Another co-worker said Paporakis described the following day as a “special day.”
The next afternoon, Paporakis contacted the first co-worker and asked him to call. During the conversation, Paporakis allegedly said his gun had jammed and he had gotten out of there “super-fast.” The co-worker believed Paporakis was driving at the time, according to the proffer.
Paporakis then allegedly sent the co-worker a video showing an AR-style rifle failing to fire when the trigger was pulled, along with a photo of himself wearing a tactical vest. In their messages, Paporakis allegedly said he was lucky he had fired while inside his car and that no one had seen him. He also discussed possible fixes for the gun so he could “retry when I fix this,” prosecutors said.
Paporakis allegedly told the co-worker that he did not believe in divine intervention but that the man he had fired at was “certainly saved by his God today.”
The co-worker and another employee called 911 after the exchange, according to prosecutors. Palatine police located Paporakis at about 3:42 p.m. in a parking lot near his apartment in the 1300 block of North Baldwin Court.
Manifesto described alleged plan
The investigation:
During the conversation, Paporakis allegedly sent the co-worker an eight-page document he wrote titled “Why I Fought: A.K.A. (Aurora Shooter’s Manifesto).”
According to the detention proffer, the document contained racist slurs and hateful statements targeting several groups, including people of Indian ancestry, Jewish people and Black people. Prosecutors said Paporakis described those groups as “subhumans” and wrote about a plan to kill as many of them as possible.
The manifesto allegedly described how Paporakis obtained and modified an AR-style rifle, as well as his research into the intended target using YouTube and Google Street View. He allegedly wrote that he had been planning an attack for two years and had focused on the specific location for two months.
The document also encouraged others to commit violent acts, prosecutors said. Paporakis allegedly described himself as appearing to be an ordinary white college student who worked while secretly harboring white supremacist and neo-Nazi beliefs and fantasies of mass murder.
Weapons and Nazi imagery found, prosecutors say
Dig deeper:
After Paporakis’ arrest, officers executed a search warrant at his apartment. In his bedroom, investigators recovered a bag containing an AR-style rifle without a serial number, a tactical vest, eight loaded magazines, one loaded extended magazine and 300 rounds of rifle ammunition, according to the proffer.
Police also recovered a gas can and items depicting Nazi symbolism, including swastikas.
The Palatine Police Department said the investigation involved assistance from the FBI’s Chicago Field Office. Police also notified the Aurora Police Department, which coordinated outreach to Hindu places of worship in its jurisdiction.
Authorities have said the specific intended location of the alleged attack has not been confirmed. Police also said they have not identified any known ongoing threat to the public associated with the incident.
Charges and court dates
Breakdown:
He appeared Wednesday, Oct. 14, at the Cook County Third Municipal District Courthouse in Rolling Meadows, where a judge ordered him detained. His next court appearance is scheduled for 9 a.m. Oct. 30 in Room 108 at the same courthouse.
What they’re saying:
Palatine police said they are continuing to work with the FBI and are reviewing whether additional charges may be warranted. Authorities said they have not identified any known ongoing threat to the public associated with the incident.
“The seriousness of this alleged threat cannot be overstated,” Palatine Police Chief William Nord said in a statement. “Protecting our communities and places of worship remains a priority, and we will continue working with our law enforcement partners as this investigation moves forward.”
The Source: The information in this report came from the Palatine Police Department.