Illinois man, 19, arrested over alleged plot to attack Hindu temple

A 19-year-old man was taken into custody in Illinois for allegedly plotting a mass shooting at a Hindu temple in the vicinity of Chicago, authorities said.

Alexandros Paporakis, of Palatine, was taken into custody on Sunday when police learned of troubling electronic messages sent to a third party, according to the Palatine Police Department.

Paporakis had also sent his parent a document describing the plan to be used in a mass shooting, as well as photos of a rifle, rifle magazines, body armour and other tactical gear, authorities said.

Officers found a rifle, loaded magazines, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, and tactical gear during a search of his residence. They also found a document, believed to be authored by Paporakis, which included white supremacist and extremist rhetoric, as well as threats of violence against South Asian, especially Indian, people.

“Officers are investigating that he was possibly planning an attack on Oct. 11, which was a Sunday, and may have been targeting a Hindu religious institution in the Aurora area,” he said. City officials say the target was never verified.

He was charged with two felonies – making a terrorist threat and possessing a firearm. The judge ordered him to be held in jail without bail before his trial, which is scheduled for Oct. 30, police said.