Aurora Temple Shooting Suspect Faces Terror Charges as Festival Begins
Alexandros Paporakis, 19, was arrested after his rifle jammed during an attempted attack on the Sri Venkateswara Swami Temple in Illinois.
By Renata Mehta ·
Worshippers at the Sri Venkateswara Swami Temple in Aurora, Illinois, gathered for the start of the Navaratri festival on Oct. 11 after prosecutors thwarted a planned mass shooting. The incident has prompted local families to adjust their holiday plans and heighten security measures during the nine-night celebration.
Alexandros Paporakis, 19, entered the temple parking lot with a rifle but fled without firing a shot because the weapon jammed. He was arrested later that day near his home in Palatine, Illinois, roughly 40 miles from the temple. A co-worker at a Taco Bell notified authorities after Paporakis told him he planned to kill Indian people.
The suspect currently faces felony charges for making a terrorist threat and unlawfully possessing a firearm. He is scheduled to appear in court on Friday morning. Prosecutors note that Paporakis described himself as a white supremacist and neo-Nazi, using slurs to refer to Indians and other minority groups.
Asha Rao, executive director of The Chicago Kasam, a nonprofit for the South Asian community, expressed disgust over the timing of the attack. She stated, “A lot of us are just really appalled and just kind of disgusted.” Rao noted that the holiday is traditionally a peaceful time for families to celebrate together, but many residents are now more hesitant to leave their homes.
Avatans Kumar, a freelance columnist who occasionally attends the targeted temple, observed that people are more vigilant during the current observances. He said attendees are keeping their eyes and ears open for any signs of disturbance. The festival culminates in Dussehra, with Diwali occurring about three weeks later.
Local and congressional leaders are urging law enforcement to investigate the incident as a hate crime. U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, a Democrat whose district includes the temple, called on the FBI to prosecute the matter as a hate crime. Authorities recovered weapons, ammunition, a gas canister labeled with a slur, and items depicting Nazi symbols from Paporakis' home. He also wrote a lengthy note expressing a desire to kill as many non-white people as possible.
Data from Stop AAPI Hate indicates that anti-South Asian slurs online increased by 109% from 2023 to 2025. Nearly half of South Asian adults reported experiencing a hate act based on their race, ethnicity, or nationality last year. The South Asian American Policy and Research Institute reports that the state's South Asian population grew from over 242,000 in 2010 to more than 337,000 in 2020.
