Suspect Is Charged in Milwaukee With Planning a Mass Shooting

[6chars]

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by Lithos (a host of the Israel/Palestine group).

Federal prosecutors on Tuesday announced the arrest of a Milwaukee man who they said was planning a mass shooting at a Masonic temple in the city.

The suspect, Samy Mohamed Hamzeh, 23, who worked as a trainer at a kickboxing facility, was charged with illegally buying a machine gun and a silencer to carry out the attack. But he was not charged with any terrorism-related offenses because investigators were unable to tie him conclusively to a foreign terrorist organization, according to a law enforcement official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the case is continuing.

A tip from the public appears to have led counterterrorism investigators in Milwaukee to Mr. Hamzeh. The F.B.I. used two undercover operatives to gather evidence against him, including recorded conversations in which he spoke of making the “mujahedeen” overseas proud, the authorities said. “We are Muslims, defending Muslim religion,” he is accused of saying.

Last fall, Mr. Hamzeh planned to travel to Jordan, then enter the West Bank and attack Israeli soldiers and citizens, prosecutors said. But he abandoned those plans and instead focused on a possible attack in the United States, the prosecutors said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/27/us/suspect-is-charged-in-milwaukee-with-planning-a-mass-shooting.html

[Lithos]

1. Locking

Not tied to any event, group or entity associated with the I/P conflict.