An Idaho teenager was arrested and accused of planning to kill churchgoers during services across his hometown in the name of the Islamic State group, authorities have said.
Alexander Scott Mercurio, 18, from Coeur d’Alene, was arrested in the early hours of Saturday as part of the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force investigation, a day before prosecutors say he planned to carry out his attack.
He is accused of “attempting to provide material support and resources to ISIS,” according to a federal criminal complaint filed in Idaho on Monday.
The FBI said he was actively planning to attack churches Sunday in Coeur d’Alene, a town 30 miles east of Spokane, using “weapons, including knives, firearms, and fire,” a statement said. The attack was timed to coincide with the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, investigators said.
According to a direct message sent to an FBI “confidential human source,” quoted in a lengthy affidavit attached to the criminal complaint, Mercurio set out his plan in detail.
“Stop close by the church, equip the weapon(s) and storm the temple, kill as many people as possible before they inevitably disperse/scatter, then burn the temple to the ground and flee the scene,” Mercurio allegedly wrote. He said he would then repeat this for all 21 churches in the town, according to prosecutors.
Mercurio will face up to 20 years in federal prison in the event of a successful conviction. A court date has not been set. NBC News could not immediately identify an attorney for Mercurio.
As part of the investigation, prosecutors said, FBI sources met with Mercurio in person and heard him express support for ISIS and outline his plan to incapacitate his father with a metal pipe and restrain him, then take his firearms and attack a local church.
“His plan grew more precise as he eventually identified the church and date on which he planned to attack,” the affidavit said, adding that he had pledged his allegiance to ISIS and said he was prepared to die while…
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