A New York City teenager has been arrested after exchanging messages with undercover agents about his plot to carry out a terrorist attack in the name of ISIS, prosecutors said Friday.
Awais Chudhary, a 19-year-old from Queens, was detained Thursday evening during a “national security investigation,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. He allegedly sent text messages to an undercover agent revealing that he plotted to carry out a “stabbing or bombing attack,” the Daily Beast reported.
“As alleged, Awais Chudhary planned to kill innocent civilians on behalf of ISIS and record the bloodshed in the hope of inspiring others to commit attacks,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Prosecutors said Chudhary told the agents he wanted to execute the attacks on the bridges over the Grand Central Parkway to the Flushing Bay Promenade and the World’s Fair Marina.
The teenager said he preferred to carry out a knife attack “because that’s what he knows.” But he also received guidelines on how to construct a bomb, which he claimed he would use on a “mini-bridge over a busy road with many cars.”
Chudhary allegedly messaged an undercover agent a screenshot of a document that was titled “Islamic State” and included subheadings that said “Places to Strike,” “The Ideal Knife,” and “Knives to Avoid.”
The document also contained an illustration of the human body with guidelines about where to stab a person.
Chudhary was expected to appear in court on Friday on terror-related charges.
After the teenager was arrested, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York released a statement that there was no “public safety issue as a result of the arrest.”
