Why Should Delaware Care?
A routine traffic stop resulted in the uncovering of a reportedly well-planned terror attack plot by a former University of Delaware student, potentially putting thousands of university students and staff at risk.
A traffic stop at a Wilmington park unraveled a man’s detailed terror attack plan against the University of Delaware Police Department, in which he professed a desire to become a “martyr,” according to law enforcement.
The case stunned small Delaware, which has never experienced a terror attack or a mass shooting that other states have in the last two decades.
The arrest comes less than a week after two members of the West Virginia National Guard were shot in the streets of Washington, D.C., by a gunman.
“This is frightening to all of us,” UD Interim President Laura Carlson wrote to the university community in a letter Tuesday, thanking the work of the New Castle County Police, the FBI, the Department of Justice, and UDPD in the case. “I am incredibly grateful to these teams for their diligent investigation and coordination.”
Arrested was Luqmaan Khan, 25, a former UD undergraduate student who was born in Pakistan but immigrated to the United States when he was a boy and is a U.S. citizen. He has no prior criminal record.
Officers with the New Castle County Police Department spotted a Toyota Tacoma parked in Canby Park in Wilmington’s Hedgeville neighborhood at 11:45 p.m. Nov. 24.
Because the city park is closed after dusk, officers approached the vehicle where they found Khan.
“Khan was visibly nervous, avoiding eye contact with law enforcement and reaching in the same location multiple times,” according to the criminal complaint.
He was then ordered out of the vehicle, and when he failed to comply he was detained for resisting an officer’s commands, police said.
During a search of the vehicle, officers reportedly found a loaded Glock handgun that had a conversion kit to make it a “sturdier shoulder-fired, sub-machine gun-like platform.” They also found three other 27-round magazines of ammo and a fourth magazine that would not have fit the weapon, officers reported.
Also recovered from the vehicle was a bulletproof plate and a notebook, which included detailed information about guns and tactics on how to evade police detection, including stealing license plates and concealing his skin, according to court records. The notebook also included a map of the University of Delaware building, and the name of at least one UDPD officer and notes about entry points.
Upon finding this evidence, Khan was turned over to the FBI, which conducted an interview. He acknowledged owning guns and stated that becoming a martyr was “one of the greatest things you can do” and was “a goal,” according to court records.
A federal judge then approved a search warrant for Khan’s South Van Buren Street home in Wilmington, where officers reportedly found a second converted Glock handgun, a .556 rifle with a scope and red dot sight, 10 extended magazines of ammo, several hollow point rounds and a bulletproof vest with an armored plate matching the one found in his vehicle.
Khan is charged with possessing an unregistered machine gun, which, if convicted, carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence.
“This case is a quintessential example of federal and state law enforcement collaborating to neutralize a grave threat to Delaware before the worst could come to pass,” Acting U.S. Attorney Julianne Murray said in a statement announcing the arrest Monday.
Editor’s Note: This story originally reported that Nov. 24 was the day before Thanksgiving. It was not. We regret the error.