Taco Bell Workers Alert Police After Teen Allegedly Plans Temple Attack
Two Arlington Heights employees called 911 after a 19-year-old co-worker described killing Indian people and sharing a manifesto, leading to his arrest before he could execute the plan.
By Luka Evans ·
Two Taco Bell employees in Arlington Heights helped stop an alleged mass shooting plot by calling 911.
Prosecutors say the 911 call, placed by co-workers of Alexandros Paporakis, allowed authorities to obtain a search warrant and arrest the 19-year-old from Palatine.
Paporakis worked at the Taco Bell on East Rand Road for several months before the incident. During that time, he made disparaging comments about other races and identified himself as a white supremacist to his colleagues.
In the week before October 10, prosecutors say his rhetoric intensified. On October 10, Paporakis told one employee he could not wait to kill Indian people. He stated he planned to use a large amount of ammunition against the largest Hindu temple in Aurora. He also told another co-worker the following day would be special.
The next day, at 1:30 p.m., Paporakis called one of the employees who later contacted police. He said his gun had jammed and that he fled quickly. During the call, he sent a video showing his automatic rifle failing to fire and a photo of himself in a tactical vest.
He also shared an eight-page document titled Why I Fought: A.K.A. (Aurora Shooter's Manifesto). The document contained derogatory language and detailed his hatred for non-white people. It described how he studied the temple using Google Street View and YouTube videos over a two-year period.
After the call, the employee and a second co-worker called 911. More than two hours later, Palatine police found Paporakis in a parking lot near his apartment. A search of his unit revealed a bag with an automatic rifle lacking a serial number, a tactical vest, eight loaded magazines, one extended magazine, 300 rounds of ammunition, a gas can, and items with Nazi symbols.
Police identified a red Acura registered to Paporakis. Surveillance video showed him entering the Hindu temple parking lot at 12:25 p.m. and leaving three minutes later. He then drove to his residence in Palatine, where he lived with his mother.
Lucas Rothaar, acting special agent in charge of the FBI Chicago Field Office, spoke at a news conference earlier this month. He stated that the public remains law enforcement's greatest asset in disrupting acts of violence. Rothaar praised the individual who stepped forward to prevent the attack.
The indictment for Paporakis is scheduled for November 9.
