A man in Milwaukee was charged with illegal possession of machine guns and for his alleged planned mass shooting plot to a Masonic Temple within the city. Federal officials said on Tuesday, the man plans to add more mass shootings in the United States to terrify the world and defend his Islam religion.
CNN News reported, Samy Mohamed Hamzeh, a 23 year old Milwaukee resident was arrested on Monday, possessing two "automatic weapons and a silencer which he purchased from undercover agents. On the arrest of the suspect, FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert J. Shields said, they had prevented a mass shooting attack that could killed more people.
Since September, Hamzeh had been on the watched by the federal authorities. He allegedly abandoned his plans on attacking soldiers in Israel and refocused his efforts on a domestic attack, according to USA Today. Hamzeh had extensively discussed his plans on the two FBI informants. The affidavit also said the FBI began recording his conversations with the informants in October.
Hamzeh and the two informants visited and tour the Milwaukee temple in order to learn the physical layout of the facility. On their recorded conversation he said, "We want two machine-guns. And we need three silencers.
He also added, "When we go into a room, we will be killing everyone, that's it, this is our duty.'' He told the two informants that his goal was to eliminate 30 people in order to terrify the world. Hamzeh also said, he want to defend Islam and encourage young people to join them, according to CBS Chicago.
Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett says he learned of Hamzeh's arrest from the U.S. attorney who's prosecuting the case. Barrett praised the federal authorities for their "quickly and decisively" actions. "This is a situation where people should sit up, take notice, be thankful," he said.
