Police arrested a 19-year-old man on October 11, 2026, and charged him with making a terrorist threat against the largest Hindu temple in Aurora, Illinois, on the first day of Navratri. Prosecutors say his rifle jammed when he tried to open fire.
Tagged: Hate Crimes Religious Freedom Hindu
What happened
On October 11, 2026, as Navratri began, police arrested Alexandros Paporakis, 19, of Palatine, Illinois. He is charged with making a terrorist threat and with unlawfully possessing a short-barreled rifle. Prosecutors say he drove to the Sri Venkateswara Swami (Balaji) Temple in Aurora, the largest Hindu temple in the area, where thousands of Hindus were celebrating the first day of Navratri, and tried to open fire before his weapon jammed and he fled. A coworker who had heard him speak of killing Indian people alerted police.
The details
Investigators examined electronic communications and a manifesto attributed to him, which prosecutors say described its author as a white supremacist and named Indian, Jewish, and African American people as targets. No one at the temple was harmed. The case is before the courts, and the charges are allegations until they are proven. Religion News Service reported the arrest on October 20, 2026, in a wider account of anti-Hindu hate in the United States, which Hindu advocates say targets race and religion at once.
Why it is recorded here
Attacks and attempted attacks on houses of worship bear directly on the freedom of every tradition this site covers. This post records the reported facts of the case as Religion News Service states them; the source link on this page leads to the report.
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