ISIS Supporter Caught by FBI Was Planning to Shoot Up a 6,000 Member Megachurch
A 21-year-old Michigan man arrested by the FBI last week was allegedly planning to shoot up a 6,000 member megachurch in Detroit, authorities have said.
The Guardian reported that Khalil Abu-Rayyan of Dearborn Heights is awaiting a hearing on Monday, having been investigated since May on marijuana and gun charges. He had also made threats against the church in question, though officials did not reveal which one.
NBC News noted earlier that an undercover investigator who interacted with Abu-Rayyan on social media uncovered that the suspect had guns in his possession, and admitted that he "tried to shoot up a church one day."
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"I bought a bunch of bullets. I practiced reloading and unloading," the man admitted, according to the FBI.
A criminal complaint unsealed Thursday in U.S. District Court noted that the church Abu-Rayyan was targeting had a capacity of 6,000 members, and he had made a number of posts on social media sympathizing with Islamic State propaganda.
Abu-Rayyan said that it would have been "easy" to fire shots at the church, but apparently did not carry out his plan at the time because his father discovered the gun, ammunition, and mask he had been planning to use.
"I tried to shoot up a church one day. I don't know the name of it, but it's close to my job. It's one of the biggest ones in Detroit. Ya, I had it planned out. I bought a bunch of bullets. I practiced a lot with it. I practiced reloading and unloading. But my dad searched my car one day and he found everything. He found the gun and the bullets and a mask I was going to wear," the ISIS supporter allegedly said, according to the affidavit.
"Honestly, I regret not doing it. If I can't do jihad in the Middle East, I would do my jihad over here," he added.
Although Abu-Rayyan is not facing terror charges at this point, they could be added later, reports said.
Attorney Barbara McQuade said that the Detroit community could not have expected such a case.
"We've not had any ISIS cases arising out of [the area]," McQuade said. "A lot of people vocally and visibly oppose ISIS. … No one should make any conclusions about Dearborn or Dearborn Heights from this."
Surveys throughout 2015 revealed that American citizens are becoming increasingly concerned about home-grown terrorism.
A Fox News poll released in May 2015 found that six in 10 America believe that terrorists are living in their hometown, which was higher than the percentage who thought the same nine months following the 9/11 attacks.
The survey found that most Americans, however, or 65 percent, also trust that authorities are able to prevent terror attack in the U.S. before they occur.
