A recent thwarted mass shooting at a Hindu temple in Northwest Illinois is one of the latest racist and xenophobic attacks against the nation’s South Asian community amid a climate fueled by hate-filled speech on social media and remarks from public figures pushing false White supremacy narratives.
Significance. Officers arrested Alexandros Paporakis, 19, last week and charged him with plotting to carry out a mass shooting at the Sri Venkateswara Swami (Balaji) Temple.
According to multiple news outlets, Paporakis went to the temple on the Sunday prior, dressed in body armor and armed with a modified semi-automatic rifle, with the intent to “kill Indian people.” Right as Paporakis was about to attack the temple, his rifle jammed and prevented him from carrying out the attack, according to news outlets’ reporting based on court records.
As he was fleeing the scene, Paporakis allegedly called a coworker to tell them what happened and said he would try again. The coworker alerted local police, which prompted an investigation that led to the discovery of an eight-page manifesto filled with White supremacist rhetoric, the Associated Press and other outlets reported based on court documents.
The manifesto included passages calling people of Indian, Jewish, and Black descent “subhuman,” outlets reported.
Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., was in the temple with his family at the time of the failed attack, observing the first day of Navaratri.
“I am horrified that a white supremacist attempted to carry out a mass shooting targeting Indian Americans at the Hindu temple in Aurora where my family worships. My family and I were there when the attack was attempted last Sunday,” Krishnamoorthi said in a statement on his social media.
“The threat of such violence shows how dangerous anti-Indian hatred and white supremacy have become, and we cannot wait until innocent people are killed to take these threats seriously. I am grateful to the suspect’s coworkers who alerted police and commend the law enforcement officers who intervened. Every American deserves to live and worship …without fear, and we must stand together against hatred in all its forms.”
Thousands of templegoers at Sri Venkateswara Swami (Balaji) Temple in Aurora, Ill., were inside celebrating the first day of Navaratri, the nine-night celebration of the divine feminine energy, Shakti, believed to be responsible for creation.
Overlooked angle. This attack comes amid a series of recent anti-South Asian incidents that have targeted government officials and other South Asians across the country.
Earlier this month, a Cleveland Hindu temple was vandalized.
In September, days after the Department of Homeland Security posted and then removed derogatory imagery of a Transformer character demanding “Get off our roads. You don’t know how to drive, Mr. Singh,” Gurvinder Singh, a Sikh trucker, was stabbed 17 times.
That same month, Bo French, the Texas Railroad Commission Republican nominee, posted on X an image of South Asian students and wrote, “I heard UT graduation this year looked like this. I didn’t believe it. The problem is now obviously far worse than anyone imagined.”
Though French’s comments were widely condemned, these types of actions reflect how racist language and ideology can give birth to violence.
After the attack, Krishnamoorthi said he also received a suspicious package at his district office on Friday. On Monday, a similar package containing a suspicious substance was sent to the district office of Virginia Rep. Suhas Subramanyam.
Investigators have yet to confirm whether or not a racial motive was behind the packages being sent to the Hindu Congressmen; however, the timing after the attempted attack on the Sri Venkateswara Swami (Balaji) Temple concerns many in those communities.
Other congressmen have also received suspicious packages.
Power structure. The organization, Stop AAPI Hate, says this attempted mass shooting and hate crime is a prime example of how hateful rhetoric led by Trump and his Republican Party allies has increased anti-South Asian sentiment in the media and hate crimes in reality.
“Trump and his political allies have continued to push xenophobic policies and rhetoric that cast Indian people as a ‘demographic threat’ – from JD Vance calling Indian H-1B workers ‘indentured servants,’ to Bo French calling South Asian students a ‘problem,’” said Stop AAPI Hate in a statement.
“This narrative echoes the ‘Great Replacement’ conspiracy theory, which has a history of inspiring violent threats, targeted attacks, and mass shootings.”
What experts say. According to Stop AAPI Hate’s research, “online slurs targeting South Asians rose 109% from 2023 to 2025, and South Asians were the target of 71% of all anti-Asian online threats of violence.”
“Violence against South Asian people is not inevitable,” said Stop AAPI Hate in a press release. “It is fueled when leaders stoke fear of immigrants and people of color for political gain. We call on elected officials of every party to unequivocally condemn this attempted mass shooting and to hold Trump, Vance, and other public figures accountable for their xenophobic rhetoric and policies.”
