A 19-year-old Illinois man has been charged after an investigation into an alleged plan to hold out a mass capturing that will have focused a Hindu place of worship within the Aurora space, police stated.
Alexandros Paporakis of Palatine was arrested Sunday after the Palatine Police Division obtained data from the Mount Prospect Police Division a few potential mass capturing, in line with a press release from Palatine police.
The data got here from a person who reported receiving “regarding digital communications” from Paporakis, police stated.
Alexandros Paporakis, 19, was arrested, October 11, 2026, after police alleged his plot to hold out a mass capturing at a Hindu place of worship close to Aurora, Illinois, was thwarted.
Palatine Police Division
Authorities stated Paporakis had shared a doc allegedly outlining a plan for a mass capturing, together with photos depicting a rifle, rifle magazines, physique armor and different tactical gear.
Officers from the Palatine and Mount Prospect police departments coordinated a response and took Paporakis into custody as he was leaving his residence in Palatine on Sunday night, police stated.
Authorities stated they recovered a rifle, a number of loaded rifle magazines, a whole lot of extra rounds of rifle ammunition, tactical gear and different objects throughout a search of his dwelling after his arrest.
Investigators stated that additionally they recovered a tactical vest containing physique armor and a patch displaying imagery related to white supremacist extremism.
The most important Hindu temple close to Aurora, Illinois, is believed to have been the goal of a thwarted mass capturing plot allegedly deliberate by Alexandros Paporakis, authorities stated.
WLS
Within the days following his arrest, detectives reviewed digital communications and examined a doc attributed to Paporakis titled, “Why I Fought: A.Okay.A.: (Aurora Shooter’s Manifesto),” which contained statements expressing white supremacist and extremist ideologies, together with references to violence towards individuals of South Asian heritage, notably these of Indian descent, police stated.
Based mostly on data gathered in the course of the investigation, detectives stated they imagine Paporakis could have been planning an assault on Oct. 11 that doubtlessly focused a Hindu place of worship within the Aurora space, although police stated the precise supposed location has not been confirmed and remained below investigation.
The Aurora Police Division was notified of the potential menace by Palatine and Mount Prospect police. Aurora police subsequently contacted Hindu locations of worship of their jurisdiction to make them conscious of the knowledge, authorities stated.
“The seriousness of this alleged menace can’t be overstated,” Palatine Police Chief William Nord stated in a press release, crediting the coordinated response by Palatine and Mount Prospect police with serving to officers establish and take the suspect into custody. He additionally thanked the one who initially reported the knowledge and the FBI for its help.
Paporakis has been charged with one rely of creating a terrorist menace, a category X felony, and one rely of illegal possession of a rifle with a barrel shorter than 16 inches, a category 3 felony, police stated.
Paporakis appeared at a detention listening to Wednesday on the Prepare dinner County Third Municipal District Courthouse in Rolling Meadows, the place a choose ordered him detained.
“The FBI aggressively works alongside our native and state legislation enforcement companions to establish, examine, and dismantle any threats of violence pushed by radical ideologies,” FBI Chicago Particular Agent in Cost Ryan Whalen stated following the charging announcement by the Prepare dinner County State’s Lawyer’s Workplace.
“Because of the swift motion by the Palatine and Mount Prospect Police Departments, the topic was taken into custody with out hurt to our group,” Whalen continued. “The FBI values these robust partnerships and can proceed to make use of each legislation enforcement and prosecutorial useful resource accessible to deliver any offender utilizing concern or violence to justice.”
Palatine police stated that they’re persevering with to work intently with the FBI and that investigation stays energetic. Moreover, authorities haven’t recognized any recognized ongoing menace to the general public related to this incident.
Paporakis’s subsequent courtroom look is ready for Oct. 30 at 9 a.m. ET.
