New York: A mass shooting targeting a Hindu temple in the US failed when the alleged assailant’s rifle jammed, according to authorities, who arrested him after a tip from a co-worker.
The 19-year-old man, who described himself as a “white supremacist Neo Nazi” and poured venom in a document against Indians and Hindus, was produced in court on Wednesday (local time) and charged with making a terrorist threat and unlawful possession of weapons.
According to authorities, he had, by his admission to the co-worker, gone to a Hindu temple in Aurora, about 70 kilometres from Chicago, on Saturday, and tried to open fire, but his gun jammed, preventing a mass shooting.
There are three temples in Aurora, and police have notified temples in the area about the threat.
Alexandros Paporakis was arrested outside his home in Palatine, about 60 kilometres from Chicago, on Sunday after a tip from the person who worked with him at a fast-food restaurant.
When he was produced in the county court in Rolling Meadows and charged, the judge remanded him to custody till October 30, when he is scheduled to appear in court next.
Palatine Police Chief William Nord said a search of Paporakis’s house found a rifle, loaded magazines, hundreds of rounds of ammunition and body armour.
According to police, the body armour had white supremacist extremist designs.
“The seriousness of this alleged threat cannot be overstated,” Nord said.
On Sunday, Paporakis asked his co-worker in a text message to call him, prosecutors said.
During their call, he told the co-worker that he had tried to carry out the mass shooting, but the rifle didn’t fire when he pulled the trigger, and he fled “superfast”, according to prosecutors.
The co-worker, who has not been identified, contacted the police in Mount Prospect, who passed on the tip to Palatine authorities.
Paporakis sent the co-worker a photo of himself in a tactical vest and a copy of an eight-page “manifesto” titled, “Why I Fought: A.K.A.: (Aurora Shooter’s Manifesto)”.
Court documents said his “manifesto” was filled with racist outbursts against people of Indian descent and a Hindu temple.
He declared that he would die after killing as many minorities as he could, according to prosecutors.
Prosecutors’ documents in court alleged that Paporakis, who had described himself as a “sociopathic white supremacist Neo Nazi filled with hatred”, had been planning the attack for two years.
Nord said, “Reading through the manifesto, he did state some extremist ideologies and talked about violence; he talked about mass killings and how he wanted to carry out this mass shooting”.
Police said that with the help of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, they were able to gain access to his electronic equipment and communications.
In his writings, he also expressed hatred of Jewish people and non-white people, including African Americans, officials said.
According to prosecutors, Paporakis may have mental health issues.
The co-worker told police Paporakis was behaving manically over the weekend.
Police said he lived with his mother, who failed to stop him from buying a weapon.
(IANS)
