Court documents filed by prosecutors in the alleged plot for a mass shooting at a Hindu temple in Aurora, Illinois provide details of an eight-page manifesto written by the suspect.
“I decided to target something that would give me pleasure to destroy,” wrote Alexandros Paporakis, 19, of Palatine, Illinois in that document, reported the Chicago Tribune. The self-identified White supremacist is charged with making a terrorist threat and unlawful possession of weapons.
A co-worker of Parporakis at Taco Bell detailed to police how the suspect described driving to the Sri Venkateswara Swami Balaji Temple on a Sunday in October intending to kill as many people as possible. The co-worker says Parporakis ended up returning home when his gun malfunctioned and he could not get it unjammed. Police arrested him that night at a home he shared with his mother.
The paper also reported that the teenager recently signed a guardianship petition filed by a family friend. The petition alleged his mother could not provide a staple home and his father abused and abandoned him.
“No one should have to fear for their safety or their lives while gathering to worship and practice their faith,” said Kiran Kaur Gill, Executive Director of the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund in a statement sent to AsAmNews. “The targeting of a Hindu temple is not only an act of anti-Indian hatred, but also an attack on the fundamental promise of religious freedom in America.”
According to Stop AAPI Hate, online slurs against South Asian Americans surged 109% from 2023 to 2025 and 71% of anti-Asian threats of violence online targeted South Asians.
The group just released its new report, License to Hate.
“Trump and his political allies have continued to push xenophobic policies and rhetoric that cast Indian people as a “demographic threat” – from JD Vance calling Indian H-1B workers “indentured servants”, to Bo French calling South Asian students a “problem,” said Manjusha Kulkarni, Co-Founder of Stop AAPI Hate and Executive Director of AAPI Equity Alliance. “This narrative echoes the “Great Replacement” conspiracy theory, which has a history of inspiring violent threats, targeted attacks, and mass shootings.”