Photo: Pat Nabong / Chicago Sun-Times
Prosecutors say a 19-year-old self-described neo-Nazi drove to the Sri Venkateswara Swami (Balaji) Temple in Aurora, Illinois, on the first day of Navaratri, intending a mass shooting, and left when his rifle jammed. U.S. Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, who was inside the temple with his parents that afternoon, is asking the FBI to treat the case as a hate crime.
AURORA, Illinois — A 19-year-old man from Palatine, Illinois, is in custody and charged with making a terrorist threat and unlawfully possessing a rifle after prosecutors said he went to the largest Hindu temple in Aurora on Sunday, 11 October, intending to carry out a mass shooting, and drove away when his rifle jammed.[3][4] U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, whose family has worshipped at the temple for about 40 years, was inside with his parents that afternoon and has called for a hate-crime prosecution.[2][4] The accused’s lawyers, the Cook County Public Defender’s office, say the statements of police and prosecutors are only allegations.[5]
In a video interview published by Fox 32 Chicago, Krishnamoorthi became emotional as he recalled being at the temple with his family on the day of the alleged plot.[1] He told the Chicago Sun-Times he never saw the suspect and learned of the incident only on Wednesday, 14 October, from media reports.[4]
“I visited not knowing that there was an attacker lying in wait with a sinister motive to commit a mass shooting, and only because his AR-15 weapon jammed was he not able to commit a massacre that day.”
Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Illinois), to the Associated Press, 15 October 2026[5]
Krishnamoorthi, a Democrat from Schaumburg who represents Illinois’ 8th District in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, said the suspect’s manifesto shows that “hateful sentiment fueled [the] actions that day.” He said he would ask the FBI to investigate and prosecute the case as a hate crime, said he had increased his own security, and urged the federal government to release nonprofit security grants for houses of worship.[4][5] He linked the case to a rise in anti-Indian rhetoric online:
“This hateful rhetoric is now being translated into violence, and the Trump administration is fanning the flames. … The flames of hateful rhetoric combined with the proliferation of firearms means that we’re going to have potential attacks like the one we had on Sunday.”
Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, to the Chicago Sun-Times, 15 October 2026[4]
According to Cook County prosecutors, the accused, Alexandros Paporakis, spent two years planning a mass shooting and had been targeting a Hindu worship centre in Aurora for two months.[4] Co-workers at the Taco Bell in Arlington Heights where he worked told investigators that he openly described himself as a white supremacist, talked about Nazis and armed struggle, and spoke with particular hatred of people from India. On Saturday, 10 October, he allegedly told one co-worker that he was planning “it” at the largest Hindu temple in Aurora, and told another that Sunday “was going to be a special day.”[3]
Police say a red Acura RDX registered to him entered the parking lot of a Hindu temple in Aurora at about 12:25 p.m. on Sunday and left at about 12:38 p.m.; shortly before 2 p.m. the car was seen back in Palatine, with him alone inside.[2] The temple was crowded that day with thousands of worshippers marking the first day of Navaratri.[6]
Prosecutors said in a court proffer that his AR-style rifle jammed as he tried to shoot a man from a car. Around 1:30 p.m. he allegedly texted a co-worker that the rifle had jammed and that he intended to “retry when I fix this,” and he sent messages showing an AR-style rifle failing to fire, a photo of himself in a tactical vest and a copy of his manifesto.[3][4] At a news conference on Thursday, 15 October, police said they had not independently confirmed the jam, nor where the video of the failing rifle was recorded.[2]
Two Taco Bell co-workers called 911 after his call, and Mount Prospect police, tipped off by a person who had received “concerning electronic communications” from him, alerted Palatine police that afternoon.[3] Palatine and Mount Prospect officers arrested him on Sunday evening near his home in Palatine.[3][4] Police praised the people who came forward: “If not for this individual, you might be talking about something completely different here.”[2]
A search of his home turned up, according to police and prosecutors:[3][4][5]
With the FBI’s help, investigators found an eight-page manifesto in which, prosecutors say, he called himself “a sociopathic white supremacist Neo Nazi filled with hatred, fantasizing about mass murder nearly every day,” called non-white people “subhumans” and described a plan to kill as many of them as possible. Police say it also describes research into the temple’s location.[2][4] Police say the evidence so far indicates he acted alone.[2]
The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office has charged him with two felonies: making a terrorist threat, and unlawful possession of a weapon for having a rifle with a barrel shorter than 16 inches.[3] At a hearing on Wednesday, 14 October, Associate Judge Andreana Turano ordered him detained, noting in her order that he was a self-described white supremacist.[4] Court documents say he had mental and emotional health problems and had been without prescribed medication.[3]
He is represented by the Cook County Public Defender’s office, which said the statements by police and prosecutors are only allegations.[5] His next court date is 30 October in Rolling Meadows. The FBI’s Chicago field office, local police and federal and local prosecutors are reviewing whether federal charges will be filed.[2]
The Sri Venkateswara Swami (Balaji) Temple, which stands on 20 acres and is the largest Hindu temple in Aurora,[6] said a security threat had “targeted our Temple”:
“Please know that the safety of our devotees, employees and volunteers is our highest priority, and we have implemented additional security measures effective immediately, including increased armed security presence at the Temple.”
Sri Venkateswara Swami (Balaji) Temple, statement quoted by the Associated Press[5]
Aurora Mayor John Laesch, speaking at a news conference hosted by SACRED Acts, Hindus for Human Rights and the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said he was grateful the suspect was caught before he could harm anyone and asked residents to keep celebrating the festival “without fear.”[4] At a further news conference in Chicago on Friday, 16 October, Krishnamoorthi stood with faith and civic leaders who said the plot reflected a surge in anti-Hindu and anti-Indian hate online.[6]
“Sooner or later, all that online hate is going to migrate to the real world.”
Pushpita Prasad, Coalition of Hindus of North America, to the Associated Press[6]
In New Delhi, India’s Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal called the anti-Hindu and racist nature of the alleged plot “particularly disturbing” and said India expects the U.S. authorities to investigate it thoroughly.[7]
The accused remains in custody ahead of his 30 October hearing, and no federal charges had been reported as of 18 October. The Associated Press placed the case in a run of attacks on Hindu and Sikh places of worship in the United States, among them bricks thrown at a Hindu temple in Richmond Heights, Ohio, on 3 October and gunfire at ISKCON’s Sri Sri Radha Krishna Temple in Spanish Fork, Utah, in 2025.[6]
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