File photo: Alexandros Paporakis, 19, has been charged over an alleged mass shooting plot that may have targeted a Hindu place of worship near Chicago
The 19-year-old transgender teen accused of plotting a racist mass shooting at a Hindu temple near Chicago will reportedly continue receiving hormone injections for gender transition while in jail awaiting trial, after a judge ordered his detention without bail. Police said Paporakis drove to a large Hindu temple in Aurora at about 12.25 pm on Sunday, intending to open fire. Paporakis faces felony charges of making a terrorist threat and unlawfully possessing a rifle with a barrel shorter than 16 inches. He is due back in court on October 30.
Paporakis is being treated for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), depression and anxiety, in addition to receiving hormone injections, NBC Chicago reported.
Prosecutors say he told co-workers he “couldn’t wait to kill Indian people” and described himself as a white supremacist. FBI Chicago acting special agent in charge Lucas Rothaar praised the informant, saying the public remained law enforcement’s “greatest asset” in disrupting acts of violence. A search of Paporakis’ home uncovered an AR-style rifle, a loaded magazine, hundreds of rounds of ammunition and tactical equipment, police said.
The ruling came days after Paporakis was arrested over an alleged plan to attack a Hindu temple in Aurora, a suburb of Chicago. The messages reportedly included an eight-page document outlining an alleged mass-shooting plan and photographs of a rifle, ammunition magazines and tactical equipment. Surveillance footage reportedly showed his car entering the parking lot before leaving a few minutes later. The co-worker alerted police, who obtained a search warrant and arrested Paporakis before he could allegedly return to the temple. Investigators also found an eight-page manifesto that allegedly expressed hatred towards Indians, Jews, Black people and other non-white communities, alongside white supremacist and Nazi imagery.
Alexandros Paporakis, a transgender man from Palatine, Illinois, appeared in court on Wednesday, when the judge also addressed his medical treatment. Paporakis, who worked as a cashier at Taco Bell, was arrested on Sunday after a co-worker alerted police to suspicious communications. A judge ordered him held without bail on Wednesday and issued an order addressing his healthcare in custody, including hormone injections for gender transition.