texas

Collin County Grand Jury Indicts Teen Accused of Plotting Mass Shooting at Frisco's Stonebriar Centre

Teen could face life in prison for criminal solicitation and 10 years for terroristic threat

A Collin County grand jury indicted Matin Azizi-Yarand, 17, Friday on a charge of solicitation to commit capital murder of a police officer and for making a terroristic threat, KRLD reports.

Azizi-Yarand was arrested May 2 and accused of planning an Islamic State-inspired mass shooting at Frisco's Stonebriar Centre mall.

The teenage terror suspect, who lived with his parents in Plano, was arrested at Plano West Senior High School. Since his arrest, he's been held on a $3 million bond.

Under Texas law he will be tried as an adult and could face up to life in prison for criminal solicitation and up to 10 years in prison for making a terroristic threat.

According to the arrest affidavit released in May, Azizi-Yarand began communicating online with a confidential FBI informant in December 2017 and told the source that he wanted to conduct a terrorist attack during Ramadan, when there would be few Muslims at the mall.

Over the course of four months, investigators said the suspect communicated with two informants and an undercover FBI agent about possible targets for an attack, including an unnamed school, a Hindu temple and then, finally, Stonebriar Centre.

According to the affidavit, Azizi-Yarand told the FBI source, “Look at all the other lone wolves. What training did they have yet they simply killed the kuffar? (Arabic for ‘disbelievers.’)”

Over the course of the investigation, Azizi-Yarand transferred a total of $1,400 to the people who he believed were his accomplices so they could purchase weapons and supplies for the attack.

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