Police arrested former University of Delaware student Luqmaan Khan after finding guns, body armor and a manifesto outlining plans to kill all, the New York Post reported. The FBI later uncovered more unregistered weapons.
A Pakistani-born former University of Delaware student was arrested with an arsenal of weapons, body armor and a handwritten manifesto outlining plans to kill all in a mass shooting on campus, the New York Post reported. Police say the discovery may have prevented a devastating attack.
Luqmaan Khan, 25, was arrested just before midnight on November 24 after New Castle County officers found him sitting in his pickup truck in a closed Wilmington park and became suspicious of his behaviour.
What they found in his vehicle, investigators said, was chilling — a .357 Glock pistol fitted with a conversion kit turning it into a semi-automatic rifle, multiple 27-round magazines, body armor plates and a notebook allegedly spelling out plans for a campus attack.
The notebook contained a map of the University of Delaware police headquarters marked with entry and exit points and repeated phrases such as kill all – martyrdom, according to ABC 6. Prosecutors described the writings as premeditated assault plans and warfare techniques.
According to the New York Post, Khan allegedly told investigators that dying as a martyr was one of the greatest things you can do. One campus police officer was named in the notes, though prosecutors said the motive remains unclear.
Khan, a US citizen who moved from Pakistan as a youth, had no prior criminal record, but neighbours told Spotlight Delaware he had recently become unusually standoffish.
The FBI later searched Khan’s Wilmington home and uncovered even more weapons — an AR-style rifle with a red-dot scope, a second Glock pistol equipped with an illegal machine-gun conversion device known as a switch, 11 extended magazines, hollow-point bullets and a tactical vest. None of the weapons were registered.
In the handwritten notebook, Khan discussed additional weapons and firearms, how they could be used in an attack, and how law enforcement detection could be avoided once an attack was carried out.
The notebook referenced a member of the University of Delaware’s Police Department by name, and included a layout of a building with entry and exit points under which the words “UD Police Station” were printed.
Federal prosecutors charged him with illegal possession of a machine gun, though authorities say further charges are possible as the investigation continues. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison.
Officials emphasised that the foiling of the alleged attack came down to simple but vigilant police work.
“They just randomly drove up in Canby Park West,” Master Cpl. Richard Chambers said. “Rather than just shooing the person out, they did police work.”
“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. I want to thank our dedicated law enforcement partners at the FBI and the NCCPD for their exceptional work. As always, we are proud to work with them to keep Delaware safe,” said Acting US Attorney Murray.
