Daijiworld Media Network - Chicago
Chicago, Oct 15: A 19-year-old man has been arrested in Chicago for allegedly plotting a mass shooting at a Hindu temple in Aurora, Illinois. Police reportedly recovered weapons, ammunition and items bearing racial slurs and Nazi symbols during a search of his home.
Alexandros Paporakis, a Taco Bell cashier from Palatine, Illinois, faces felony charges of making a terrorist threat and unlawfully possessing weapons. Investigators suspect he may have planned to target the Sri Venkateswara Temple, the largest Hindu place of worship in Aurora, although the exact intended location remains under investigation.
It was not immediately clear whether Paporakis had legal representation.
According to prosecutors from the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, his co-workers alerted authorities after receiving disturbing digital communications, including a document outlining an alleged mass shooting plan and photographs of tactical equipment, the Associated Press reported.
The co-workers told police that Paporakis had openly identified himself as a white supremacist at work and allegedly said he could not wait to kill Indian people.
The Mount Prospect and Palatine police departments coordinated to locate and arrest Paporakis as he was leaving his home on Sunday afternoon. Investigators believe he may have been preparing to carry out an attack that day.
According to police, Paporakis had allegedly told his Taco Bell co-workers that Sunday would be “a special day”. Prosecutors further alleged that he called one co-worker earlier that day, claiming his gun had jammed and that he had left quickly without being noticed.
Prosecutors allege that Paporakis 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, the document described Indian, Jewish and African American people in dehumanising terms and outlined an alleged plan to kill as many people from these communities as possible.
In the document, Paporakis allegedly described himself as a “sociopathic white supremacist Neo Nazi” who fantasised about mass murder nearly every day.
During a search of Paporakis’ home, detectives recovered an AR-style rifle without a serial number, loaded magazines and ammunition, according to police and prosecutors.
Investigators also allegedly found a gas canister labelled with a racial slur targeting South Asians, along with several items bearing Nazi symbols.
Palatine Police Chief William Nord said the seriousness of the alleged threat could not be overstated, adding that protecting places of worship remained a law enforcement priority.
A judge ruled on Wednesday that Paporakis would remain in custody pending trial. He is scheduled to appear in court again on October 30.