Full press conference: Palatine police detail alleged Illinois Hindu temple shooting plot

We appreciate everybody's attendance here this morning. As you know, on Sunday, October 11, 2026, the Palatine Police Department, working in coordination with Mount Prospect Police Department, arrested a 19-year-old Palatine man following an investigation into an alleged mass shooting. Given the seriousness of this case and the significant public interest it's garnered, we wanted to provide an opportunity for our law enforcement representatives to address the investigation and answer any questions regarding information that can be released at this time appropriately. Before we begin, I'd like to take a moment to introduce everybody behind me that is representing their individual agencies. And so I'm going to go from left to right here. Standing to the far left is Chief Michael Eterno from Mount Prospect Police Department. We've got Commander Josh Hester from Palatine Police Department. He's our Investigations Commander. To my immediate right here is Chief William Nord with the Palatine Police Department. And then we've got to my far right here, FBI Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Field Office, Lucas Rothar. We appreciate the cooperation and partnership of all the agencies involved in this investigation. And in just a moment, I'm going to have Chief Nord provide some remarks regarding the updates on the investigation, what was provided yesterday in our news release, our initial news release. Following his remarks, we'll have the acting special agent in charge, Lucas Rothars, come up and give some comments as well. And then we'll open up the floor for a brief question and answer session. I do want to emphasize, though, that this remains an active and ongoing investigation. So please keep that in mind as we open up the floor for questions. We will try to address as many as we can here, but we do have some limited availability. And then given that the fact that this is open investigation, we'd like to keep this to anything that's clarifying what we released yesterday in our news news release or anything that's discussed here by any of the speakers this morning. OK, we appreciate your understanding with that. And at this point, I'm going to turn it over to Palatine Police Chief William Nord. Good morning, everyone. Thank you for being here today. As outlined in our news release on Sunday, October 11th, the Palatine Police Department was notified by the Mount Prospect Police Department of information concerning a potential mass shooting. The information originated from an individual who had received concerning electronic communications from a 19-year-old Palatine resident identified as Alexandros Paparakis. Recognizing the seriousness of the reported threat, officers from both departments immediately coordinated their response, resulting in the offender being taken into custody that evening. The subsequent investigation, which included the execution of a search warrant at the offender's residence, resulted in the recovery of a rifle, loaded rifle magazines, hundreds of rounds of rifle ammunition, body armor, and other tactical equipment. As the investigation progressed, detectives identified information suggesting that the offender may have been planning an attack on October 11th, potentially targeting a Hindu place of worship in the Aurora area. As part of our continued investigation, through coordination with the Aurora Police Department last night and this morning, investigators were able to positively identify the offender's red Acura RDX registered to the offender entering the parking lot of a known Hindu temple in the Aurora community. He entered the parking lot at approximately 12.25 p.m., exited the parking lot at approximately 12.38 p.m. The offender's vehicle then was captured returning to Palatine. It was observed returning to Palatine shortly before 2 p.m. along Rand Road near the offender's residence. At that time, it appeared that the offender was driving the vehicle, and he was alone in the vehicle. The offender has since been charged with making a terrorist threat, a Class X felony, and a weapons-related felony. He appeared in court yesterday, and the judge ordered him to be detained. Based on the information developed during the investigation, we have not identified any known ongoing threats associated with the public and associated with this incident. I want to emphasize that the seriousness of this alleged threat cannot be overstated. The immediate sharing of information and coordinated response by the Palatine and Mount Prospect Police Departments were instrumental in identifying and taking this individual into custody. I also want to recognize the individual who initially came forward with this information and contacted the Mount Prospect Police Department. Their willingness to report these communications played a vital role in bringing this matter to the attention of law enforcement. We are grateful for the assistance of the FBI Chicago Field Office, which has been working closely with our detectives as the investigation continues. Speaking on behalf of Chief Mike Eterno, protecting our communities and places of worship remains a priority for both the Palatine and Mount Prospect Police Departments. We will continue working with our law enforcement partners as this investigation moves forward. At this time, I'd like to turn it over to the acting special agent in charge of the FBI Chicago Field Office, Lucas Rothar, and thank you. Good morning. First and foremost, I want to thank the brave men and women of the Palatine Police Department and the Mount Prospect Police Department. Their unwavering commitment to keep our communities safe cannot be emphasized enough. And their swift actions on Sunday in this incident ensured that our communities did not face any harm. The FBI's investigative and intelligence personnel collaborate each and every day with our local, state, and federal partners across all law enforcement in all of our shared commitment to identify, investigate, and disrupt any threats of violence driven by radical ideologies. For the communities that are affected by this news that they're hearing, especially those in our communities of the Indian and Hindu communities, I want to let you know that the FBI is fully committed to providing any support we can to the Palatine Police Department and the prosecutors in this case. Our special agents and task force officers have been coordinating with Chief Nord's department since the incident had arisen on Sunday, and the chief and the community have the full access to the FBI's arsenal investigative resources. The FBI has zero tolerance for any acts of violence or threats made against the public driven by those attempting to impose their hateful ideologies and trying to oppress or silence those who are living peacefully in our country and expressing their First Amendment rights. As highlighted by Chief Nord, the public remains law enforcement's greatest asset in disrupting acts of violence. I want to praise and offer my personal, sincerest thanks to the individual who stepped forward. In many successful disruptions by law enforcement and potential acts of violence or terrorism attacks, it is a single, courageous member of the public who comes forward to prevent attacks. I encourage all in the community, if you see something suspicious, threatening, or out of the ordinary, Please come forward. In this instance on Sunday, I want to thank that individual for their bravery. So for all those that are listening in the public, I implore you, following the footsteps of this brave individual, immediately report any threats or acts of violence. Let authorities do our jobs as dedicated investigators to determine the credibility and the next path forward. The public can report any such threats to any law enforcement agency, whether it's the local police department, the county sheriff's office, the Illinois State Police, or the FBI. We as a law enforcement community, we engage each and every day to determine the best path forward. If there is an emergency, members of the public should immediately call 911. If they have other information, if they'd like to contact the FBI, we can be reached at 1-800-CALL-FBI, or folks can submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov. All tips can be treated anonymously. Finally, the FBI remains committed to supporting great law enforcement partners like Chief Nord and Chief Eterno and stands with all those across the nation who work tirelessly to prevent terrorist attacks and acts of violence. Thank you. Okay. Again, at this time, we're going to open up the floor for about 10 minutes' worth of questions. Our PIO, Officer Nick Hyrit, standing to my right, is going to help me moderate this. So, Nick's going to recognize you. If you have a question, Nick will be the person that recognizes you. Please state your agency, your name, and who your question is for. Just to remind everybody up here, we have Chief Michael Eternal from Mount Prospect Police Department. We have Commander Josh Hester, Investigations Commander for Palatine Police Department. We have Chief William Nord from the Palatine Police Department and Acting Special Agent in Charge Lucas Rothar from the FBI. And again, Deputy Chief Dave Brandwein with Palatine Police. So with that, Nick, please start. One more question before we, one more comment before we begin. I'm going to ask, just to reiterate this, we'd like to keep the question specific to anything that was released yesterday in our initial statement. Statement or anything that was already any clarifying questions you may have about anything that was said here this morning Thank you for that So our investigation has revealed that and confirmed as of right now that he has been alone in this planning He did reveal some details in the manifesto that he's been planning this for some time. We are still trying to determine why the October 11th date was significant for him. We're still working on that. Our investigators and the FBI, we're still looking into all that information. The manifesto itself, self-described eight-page manifesto that contained words and photos and self-described Aurora shooters manifesto. Beyond that, with the content of the manifesto, with the ongoing investigation, and maintain that integrity, we're not going to comment any more about some of the content in the manifesto that has been already released. So we are still working on that, on trying to determine that. Some of the information that was identified in his manifesto provided some details that we still have to follow up on and confirm. So obviously, to maintain the integrity of the investigation, we're still looking into that. That is going off of the statement that was communicated to his associate and a video that he played that possibly showed the gun jammed. We are still trying to determine where exactly the video was taken. We don't know if it was in a parking lot or if it was at a residence or in the car. So we're still working on that. That's still under investigation. I cannot confirm if the gun jammed or not. Yeah, the FBI is continuing to work with our local partners. We are in communication with the Northern District of Illinois, the U.S. Attorney's Office, who is in communication with the state's attorney's office. So as we do in all cases, the law enforcement agencies and the prosecutors will examine all avenues and determine the best path forward. But it continues to be a matter ongoing. Just a reminder, if you could please, in addition to your name and your agency, just state who the question is for so we can have the appropriate speaker step up. Obviously, if it hadn't been for this program, we'd be talking about law enforcement. And from what I understand, just based on the timeline that you guys told us about, this is a conversation that spanned a couple of days. Is there maybe a broader message here for that co-worker, for anyone who might have these tips to come forward sooner? And I guess, you know, to be totally blunt, I guess my question is, why wasn't it until Sunday that the co-worker... So, again, I'll reiterate what was already said with that. We commend them for coming forward when they did. As far as the timeline goes, you know, that's something still that we're looking at. but the main focus here with the individual who came forward is that we commend them and, you know, a message to the public, if you see something, say something. You know, if not for this individual, you know, we might be talking about something completely different here. So looking through the eight-page manifesto, there's nothing that identifies exactly what has radicalized him. He's been living in Palatine with his mother for approximately a year. We have no contacts with him, so we are still looking into all that. I'm not sure of any criminal history. Yes? I think we were very fortunate that something much, much worse did not happen. I think, and I'm going to say that during the investigation, what prompted the necessity to contact Mount Prospect Police Department, I think, is the communications that were given that day. So, as you said, if the conversation took place over a couple days, I think the information that was presented to that individual on that day necessitated an immediate response, and he contacted the Mount Prospect Police Department. Yes, the mother has been questioned and is not cooperating with the investigation at this time. Is not. I'm sorry, one more. He made a statement. He is not. So where is any specific reason he wants to attack the grave? Something? Any specific person who's going to be there or something like this? Based on the information that was given to us and based on the communications, what our investigation revealed was specifically he was looking for a large Hindu temple. That was it. Is it a temple that was targeted? Out of respect, no. I do not know how he received this information, and what we're going to keep it as is it's a known Hindu temple in the Aurora community. No, Steve, we've had no prior contacts with him. The sign of the manifesto and what the co-workers say is binding concerning social media posts, Reddit posts, or any forums that he may have been a part of? So as part of the search warrant, there were electronic communication devices that were recovered from the residence, and those are currently being examined at the FBI Chicago Regional Computer Forensic Laboratory. so we are expecting some information to come through on that as part of the investigation. Are there any repercussions? None known at this time. So what an investigation like this really entails, I mean this is different from your obviously typical police investigation, this is something that you guys are still investigating, and you've heard nationwide about these increased rhetoric, hateful messages, languages. Can you talk about that here locally and how an investigation like this is maybe a little bit more intense and requires a little bit more digging and just trying to get a feel of how these have to be. Yeah and I don't know if I would characterize it as more in-depth because of this. I think the police department's investigations and the FBI's investigations they complement each other in a multitude of ways. In this case we're pushing forward with all available resources from the FBI and with the Palatine Police Department as well. And just to touch on the comment earlier as far as the the brave person who came forward uh it is why we encourage this was one person who came forward uh there's opportunities for others to come forward it's not just one person who sees something if someone sees something earlier we get thousands of tips each and every year the FBI over a hundred thousand tips the Chicago field office thousands of tips those individuals we assess we investigate uh many we we either disrupt we charge or we determine that there's not a threat. I encourage the public to let law enforcement do the job of making that assessment and not trying to make a determination is now the time to call it not not the time to call. In these cases, we treat people with their constitutional rights. We respect their privacy. Uh, and our job is to protect the public. So the sooner we get that information, the sooner we can do that job. Cool. I don't have any more information on anyone living there. What I do know is what the investigation revealed is that it was the mom and our offender that were living at that residents we're going to take one more this is going to be the last question uh then i'll make a closing statement uh but we'll take one more question here um it corroborated kind of his statements that he made to his um associate that was the good samaritan so that uh corroborated the information that he provided okay with that uh folks we're going to make some concluding remarks here that's going to be the end of the q a um just a couple other things to wrap up before we wrap up here for the day. But on behalf of Chief Nord and the Palatine Police Department, I want to thank our law enforcement partners for the continued cooperation and assistance throughout this investigation. We also appreciate your attention, the media's, and the continued coverage of the case, so thank you very much. As this investigation progresses, we will provide additional updates when information becomes available for release. I also want to provide our tip line, So this will be important for the public that's watching here today, both a phone and an e-mail address that the public can utilize for this case. So these are both related to the Palatine Police Department. The e-mail address, and I'm going to say it and then I'm going to spell it out, crimetipsatpalatine.il.us. So it's going to be C-R-I-M-E-T-I-P-S at palatine.il.us. Anything related to this case that the public that may be watching right now has on this, please feel free to email that. If you prefer a phone call, I'm going to give you a tip line as well. The phone number for that, and again, this is directly to the Palatine Police Department tip line, 847-963-6499 So to repeat, 847-963-6499 Anything else that the media has, if you have any additional questions following today's press conference, Officer Hirots and I will be available. He should have left some cards there for you. You should also have some sheets that were handed out earlier that have all the list of the names and agencies as well as positions of any of the speakers here this afternoon or this morning. So, again, thank you for your time here this morning, and we appreciate it.