Trans-identified male arrested in Illinois for attempted mass shooting at Hindu temple

A 19-year-old trans-identified man was arrested in Illinois over the weekend after allegedly plotting to carry out a mass shooting at a Hindu temple. Police said that Alexandros Paporakis had driven to the Hindu Temple in southwest suburban Aurora armed but the gun jammed when he attempted to carry out his plan.

Authorities said that Paporakis drove from his mother’s home in Palatine to the temple in Aurora on Sunday, which had been filled with people. Police said he wanted to “kill a significant number of Indians,” Per NBC Chicago. The outlet referred to Paporakis as "he" despite his identifying as trans. The same outlet referred to the Tumbler Ridge trans shooter as "she" the difference is the target.

Investigators said they found a modified AR-style rifle in his possession, as well as 300 rounds of ammo, body armor, gasoline cans, and swastikas. When he attempted to open fire, his gun jammed, and he drove home, where he “searched internet trying to learn how to unjam his gun & called a colleague informing them of (his) intent to carry out a mass shooting.” 

That coworker reported to police that he had received concerning communications from Paporakis that day, which led law enforcement to obtain a search warrant and arrest Paporakis. The police were able to identify a red Acura registered to Paporakis after the tip, and surveillance video showed the suspect entering the temple’s parking lot at around 12:25 pm and exiting three minutes later. He was later observed driving to his mother’s residence. He was arrested before he could return to the temple. 

Investigators said that they recovered a manifesto believed to have been written by Paporakis, who referred to himself as the "Aurora shooter.” The writings “expressed words of hate, violence, superior race and mass shooting of Indian people,” and expressed hatred against African Americans, Indians, Jewish People, and “non-white” people. Investigators said he “expressed pleasure calling himself a sociopathic white supremacist Neo-Nazi filled with hatred, fantasizing about mass murder nearly every day.”

Paporakis is facing gun charges and is accused of making a terrorist threat. He has been ordered to be held without bond by a Cook County judge, who placed a healthcare order on the teen, noting that he’s being treated for ADHD, depression, anxiety, and is receiving cross-sex hormones for a sex change.

Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, a Democrat who represents Illinois’ 8th congressional district in the US House, had been in attendance with his family at the temple on the day the shooting was set to take place. 

He said in a statement, “The threat of such violence shows how dangerous anti-Indian hatred and white supremacy have become, and we cannot wait until innocent people are killed to take these threats seriously. I am grateful to the suspect’s coworkers who alerted police and commend the law enforcement officers who intervened. Every American deserves to live and worship without fear, and we must stand together against hatred in all its forms.”