FBI says Michigan man pledged support to ISIS, father thwarted mass shooting at church
DEARBORN HEIGHTS, MI - A Michigan man allegedly threatened to kill police and churchgoers to show support for Islamic State, according to a federal criminal complaint unsealed on Thursday.
Khalil Abu-Rayyan, 21, of Dearborn Heights, was allegedly talking to an undercover FBI agent about his support for the terror group and how he wanted to shoot up a church that has nearly 6,000 parishioners, according to the Detroit Free Press.
The newspaper, citing the affidavit, reported Abu-Rayyan planned to shoot up the church one day, but he was stopped by his father.
"I tried to shoot up a church one day. I don't know the name of it, but it's close to my job," Abu-Rayyan told the agent, according to the complaint. "It's one of the biggest ones in Detroit. Ya. I had it planned out. I brought a bunch of bullets. I practice a lot with it. But my dad searched my car one day and he found everything. He found the gun and the bullets and a mask."
The man had wanted to shoot up the church because it would've been an easy target, the complaint said.