The day after an attempted suicide bombing in the NYC subway, CBS DFW reports (in the above video) that an 18-year-old has been charged in Houston, Texas over his attempts to assist the Islamic State’s terrorist cause. Kaan Sercan Damlarkaya, who is a U.S. citizen born and raised in Houston, was arrested by FBI agents at his parents’ home on Friday. He’s also been charged with distributing instructions on how to construct explosive devices and more.
According to KHOU, the FBI visit took the neighborhood by surprise. One neighbor, Edward Hood, told reporters that both of the family’s sons were “sharp” with Kaan presenting himself as “the most laid back one.” However, CBS News reports that Kaan had massive plans to either join ISIS battles overseas or — if his travel arrangements continued to fail (he’s unsuccessfully attempted twice to fly to Syria) — he aimed to wreak havoc stateside:
The U.S. Justice Department said Monday that Kaan Sercan Damlarkaya, a U.S. citizen, was arrested on Dec. 8 following an undercover FBI operation. A statement says Damlarkaya said he intended to travel overseas and fight for ISIS and said he tried to get to Syria twice. He told agents he would commit a U.S. attack if efforts to travel overseas failed.
It also says Damlarkaya provided to alleged ISIS supporters a formula for explosive Triacetone Triperoxide and instructions how to use it in a pressure cooker device containing shrapnel.
Not only do resulting FBI reports indicate that Damlarkaya distributed bomb-making instructions, but he also apparently did the same for instructions on constructing an AR-15 assault rifle or an AK-47 “from readily available parts to avoid detection from officials.” Damlarkaya also admitted to federal agents that he wanted to be a martyr, and he kept a machete in his room (“under his pillow”) in case authorities ever raided his home, but fortunately, the FBI visit last week was carried out without violent incident.
Further, Damlarkaya won’t be attempting to fly again to Syria anytime soon, for he could face up to 20 years behind bars if successfully prosecuted.