NBC 5: 16-year-old charged with plotting terror attack at suburban Islamic center

Court records revealed the teenager entered the building and video recorded religious services to assist in preparing for detonating an explosive device earlier this month.

By Courtney Sisk • Published July 18, 2025 • Updated on July 18, 2025 at 10:19 pm

A teenager from west suburban Lombard was charged with plotting to attack an Islamic center in
nearby Glendale Heights by detonating an explosive device, according to authorities.

The 16-year-old, whose name hasn't been released due to his age, appeared at a detention hearing on Friday on charges of unlawful possession of a firearm - a Class 4 felony and attempted terrorism - a Class 1 felony, according to the DuPage County State's Attorney's office. A judge ordered the teen to remain in jail until his next hearing on Aug. 4.

The facility in question, the Islamic Education Center, was established in 1993 to provide religious education and programs for the community. Court records revealed the teenager entered the building earlier this month and video recorded religious services to assist with preparing for detonating an explosive device - and obtained a handgun that he could conceal.

“This is very frightening," stated William Asfour, operations coordinator with the Council on Islamic Relations. "It's sad to see that mosques and places of worship continue to be targeted. We condemn this 100%, and I'm happy local authorities were able to stop it before it happened."

Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, said in a statement, "Through incredible law enforcement effort and coordination, a violent terrorist attack on American soil was thwarted.”

Asfour said while the motive isn't clear, the fear is.

"This is definitely going to spread fear within the community, and this is not what America’s about," he said. "We shouldn’t be living in fear."

Robert Berlin, DuPage County's state's attorney, said the allegations against the teenager are "extremely serious and will not be tolerated in DuPage County."

“An attempted act of terrorism, as alleged in this case, achieves the same goals of spreading fear, dividing our communities and undermining the rule of law, as does an act of terrorism..." he said in a statement, in part.