'Martyrdom' Was the Goal, Court Docs Say — But a Late-Night Traffic Stop Foiled Alleged University of Delaware Plot By Sean Neumann

Authorities in Delaware claimed this week that a happenstance arrest near the University of Delaware last month had thwarted a potentially violent attack a former student had been plotting on the school’s campus.

The New Castle County Police Department on Tuesday announced that a pair of its officers arrested 25-year-old Luqmaan Khan around midnight on Nov. 24 after pulling over his pickup truck at a park about 15 miles away from the university’s campus.

The police department said the officers became suspicious of Khan after he refused to get out of his vehicle — before officers claimed they discovered a trove of tactical-style weapons and concerning writings, which investigators allege to reference a potential attack on the school.

Police said the officers found a loaded Glock .357 handgun, four loaded 27-round extended magazines, body armor, binoculars, a laptop and a notebook in Khan’s car, which allegedly contained the writings that investigators claim shows Khan was planning for an attack on campus.

“A notebook containing notes on warfare techniques, premeditated assault plans, and a diagram of the University of Delaware Police Department,” the New Castle County Police Department said.

The Delaware News Journal reported that Khan’s notebook also allegedly included detailed diagrams of campus buildings, as well as messages about becoming a “martyr.”

Citing court documents, the newspaper reported that FBI investigators claimed Khan said during an interrogation that it was his “goal” to become a martyr and that it was “one of the greatest things you can do,” though the documents reportedly did not provide further detail about Khan’s alleged beliefs. 

The FBI said in a separate news release this week that authorities searched Khan’s home in Wilmington the day after his arrest and “recovered a Glock 19 9mm handgun equipped with an illegal machine gun conversion device, commonly called a ‘switch.’ “ 

The FBI statement also claimed officers “recovered a .556 rifle with a scope and a red dot sight, eleven more extended magazines, hollow point rounds of ammunition, and a two-plate tactical vest equipped with a single ballistic plate” at Khan’s residence in the state’s capital.

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Local police said they have charged Khan with a felony for possession of a large capacity magazine and one felony for carrying a concealed deadly weapon, as well as a misdemeanors for resisting arrest, failure to have insurance on hand, being in a park after dark, having expired tags, and not having a driver’s license on hand. The FBI added a charge for possessing a machine gun, it said.

“If convicted of the charge, Khan faces a maximum penalty of 10 years of imprisonment,” the FBI added, while the New Castle County Police Department did not say what his potential sentencing could be for the list of charges its officers gave him.

The Delaware News Journal reported that Khan is a U.S. citizen born in Pakistan who grew up in Wilmington, and was a student at the university at the time of his arrest. In a statement from university Interim President Laura Carlson, the school said Khan has now been temporarily banned from campus as his charges play out in the legal system.

The 25-year-old was handed over to federal custody after being arraigned at the county jail, New Castle police said. 

According to the Delaware News Journal, Khan has a preliminary court hearing for his state charges on Dec. 9 and is then expected to appear in federal court for a detention hearing two days later.