Man charged with possessing “machine gun,” plans to attack university police officers, prosecutors say
By Joe Brandt
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Delaware (KYW) — A Delaware man is in custody and facing federal charges after several guns were found in his home, along with apparent plans to attack the University of Delaware Police Department, prosecutors and federal court documents say.
Luqmaan Khan, 25, was charged last Wednesday with illegally possessing a machine gun, Acting U.S. Attorney Julianne Murray announced in a news release.
Khan, a University of Delaware student, allegedly drew up the layout of a UD police station and made comments to investigators about martyrdom, according to Murray and court documents filed in the U.S. District Court in Wilmington.
Authorities say Khan was stopped by New Castle County police officers late on the night of Monday, Nov. 24. The officers were in Canby Park West when they spotted a white Toyota Tacoma truck and stopped the vehicle.
Khan was inside the truck and did not comply with officers’ orders to exit the truck. He was then taken into custody for resisting arrest, Murray said.
“This is a very shocking stop. This is not a routine stop,” Newcastle County Police Master Cpl. Richard Chambers said. “This is a classic example of ‘what they thought was just a person in the park after dark’, which we deal with a lot, and this so happened to be a possible shooter of some sort.”
Inside the truck, officers found a .357 Glock handgun with a stabilizing brace kit attached, along with more magazines and an armored ballistic plate, and a composition notebook.
In the notebook, there were notes about more weapons and how they could be used to attack the University of Delaware Police Department.
“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,” Murray said.
Khan also referenced “martyrdom” in the notebook and stated in an interview with police following his arrest that being a martyr is “one of the greatest things you can do,” and was a goal of his, the affidavit alleges.
University of Delaware Interim President Laura Carlson addressed the charges against Khan in a statement to the university community Tuesday.
Carlson identified Khan as an undergraduate student and said he has been temporarily separated from the university and banned from campus until his legal matters are resolved.
“There are no known or immediate threats to the University of Delaware community. However, the press release describes evidence of a plan that targeted the University of Delaware Police Department (UDPD). This is frightening to all of us,” Carlson wrote. “The press release contains relevant information about the timeline and the actions of the New Castle County Police, the FBI, the Department of Justice and UDPD. I am incredibly grateful to these teams for their diligent investigation and coordination.”
The FBI and New Castle County police obtained a search warrant and searched Khan’s home in Wilmington on Nov. 25. The search turned up another Glock handgun, which was equipped with a “switch,” also referred to as a “Glock switch.”
This is a modification that can turn a standard semi-automatic handgun into a fully automatic one, according to CBS News Philadelphia’s previous reporting. The court documents referred to the Glock with the switch as a “machine gun.”
A rifle was also found in the home, according to an affidavit of probable cause filed in court. There are no weapons registered to Khan in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record, the document says.
According to the document, Khan is an American citizen who was born in Pakistan. He has no prior convictions on his record.
Khan is being represented by a federal public defender. Court records show he is in custody pending a detention hearing on Dec. 11, at which time a judge could rule whether to release him on certain conditions or keep him incarcerated until the case is resolved.
CBS News Philadelphia reached out to Khan’s public defender. We have not heard back.
Ross DiMattei contributed to this report.
This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting.
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