Maine teenager alleged to have plotted mass murder at Chicago synagogues and mosques
A teenager is alleged to have plotted to commit “mass murder” at Chicago synagogues and mosques.
Xavier Pelkey, an eighteen-year-old boy from Maine is said to have been found with shrapnel-packed explosives and has been accused of planning to travel to Chicago and commit “mass murder”.
Mr Pelkey was arrested at his home in Waterville, Maine on 11th February. The FBI discovered three homemade explosive devices in his backpack that were loaded with fireworks, staples, pins and thumbtacks to “increase the amount of shrapnel propelled by an explosion if the devices were detonated”, according to investigators.
Mr Pelkey has been charged with unlawful possession of a destructive device. He said that his aim was to kill as many people as he could and then be killed by the police in what prosecutors described as “a calculated act of violence that was designed to take many lives.”
The suspect had also allegedly been conversing with two other teenagers on Instagram to assist with his scheme.
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Image credit: U.S. District Court records