Officials: Man planned killings in U.S. for Islamic State

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina – A 19-year-old man was arrested Friday after telling an undercover FBI employee that he wanted to support the Islamic State group by killing as many as 1,000 people in the United States, authorities said Monday.

Justin Nojan Sullivan from the town of Morganton, North Carolina, faces several charges, including attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State group.

Sullivan “was planning assassinations and violent attacks in the United States,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P. Carlin.

According to the criminal complaint, Sullivan planned to buy a semi-automatic rifle on June 20 at a gun show so that he could kill as many as 1,000 people and demonstrate his support of the Islamic State group.

Federal authorities began investigating Sullivan after his father told emergency dispatchers in April that his son was destroying religious items in their home. “I don’t know if it is ISIS or what, but he is destroying Buddhas and figurines and stuff,” the complaint quotes Sullivan’s father as telling an emergency hotline.