A 19-year-old man from Palatine, Illinois, is charged with planning a mass shooting that police say targeted a large Hindu temple in Aurora.
Alexandros Paporakis, a Taco Bell cashier, is charged with making a terrorist threat, a Class X felony, and unlawful possession of weapons, including a rifle with a barrel shorter than 16 inches, according to Palatine police, as reported by the Chicago Sun-Times. A Cook County judge ordered him detained before trial. His next court date is Oct. 30.
The allegations
A court record reported by NBC Chicago says that on Sunday, Oct. 11, Paporakis drove from his mother's home in Palatine to the largest Hindu temple in Aurora with a modified AR-style rifle, 300 rounds of ammunition, body armor, gasoline cans and swastikas. According to the record, he tried to open fire, the gun jammed, and he drove home.
Prosecutors say he later told a coworker the gun had jammed and he had left without being seen, the Associated Press reports.
Thursday's police update
Palatine police said Thursday that surveillance video shows Paporakis's car entering the parking lot of a "known large Hindu temple" in Aurora at 12:25 p.m. Sunday and leaving at 12:38 p.m., CBS Chicago reports. Police said the video showed he appeared to be driving and was alone in the car, and that they do not plan to name the temple.
Police said they believe he acted alone. "Our investigation has revealed and confirmed as of right now that he has been alone in this planning," Palatine Police Chief Bill Nord said, according to ABC7 Chicago. According to pretrial detention documents obtained by ABC7, prosecutors say Paporakis attempted to fire his gun at a man but it jammed, and court records say he had been planning the attack for two years.
Arrest and search
Police say they were alerted Sunday afternoon by someone who had received concerning electronic messages from Paporakis, including a document outlining a mass-shooting plan and photos of tactical gear. He was arrested Sunday as he left his home.
Detectives say a search of the home turned up a rifle without a serial number, loaded magazines, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, a tactical vest with body armor and a white supremacist patch, and a gas can labelled with a slur aimed at South Asians.
The document
Prosecutors say Paporakis sent a coworker an eight-page document titled "Why I fought: A.K.A. (Aurora Shooter's Manifesto)," which called Indian, Jewish and African American people "subhumans" and outlined a plan to kill as many as possible. Police say he described himself in it as "a sociopathic white supremacist Neo Nazi filled with hatred, fantasizing about mass murder nearly every day."
Cross-sex hormones
Paporakis is taking cross-sex hormones, according to NBC Chicago. The judge also issued a jail health care order noting that Paporakis is being treated for ADHD, depression and anxiety and "receives hormone injections for gender transition."
His public defender told NBC Chicago that the statements from police and prosecutors are allegations and could change as the investigation continues.
*Cover: arrest image from CBS News Chicago video; booking photo from Palatine Police Department*