The FBI said Friday that it foiled a terrorist attack planned for New Year's Eve in North Carolina.
Federal law enforcement officials announced at a press conference that Christian Sturdivant, 18, of Mint Hill, North Carolina, was arrested and charged federally with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization.
At a news conference Friday morning, investigators from the FBI, Justice Department and partner agencies said Sturdivant was inspired by the terrorist group Islamic State, or ISIS, and planned to attack a grocery store and Burger King restaurant on New Year's Eve in Mint Hill, a suburb on the outskirts of Charlotte. Officials said he was a Burger King employee, but did not specify which grocery store they believed he was planning to attack.
“We could have declared a national tragedy. Instead, a terrorist attack was foiled,” said James Barnacle, special agent in charge of the FBI's Charlotte office.
Officials said he had been planning the attack for about a year, but had been planning the attack for “much longer.” Investigators said he spent a lot of time online reading ISIS-related material and created ISIS videos on TikTok.
During a search warrant at Sturdivant's home, officials found notes detailing his plan and the materials he intended to use in the attack, including hammers and knives hidden under his bed, said U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson of the Western District of North Carolina. The affidavit said tactical gloves and a Kevlar vest were found in his bedroom, and a handwritten note indicated he hoped to die at the hands of police.
Sturdivant planned to target a broad cross-section of American society, including non-Muslims, members of the LGBT community, and law enforcement and military personnel, the affidavit said.
“This was a very well-planned and calculated attack that he planned and which, fortunately, was prevented. Here he was preparing for jihad, and innocent people were going to die, and we are very, very lucky that they did not do that,” Ferguson said.
Ferguson said he wanted to target the grocery store because “he was looking for a known location” and “knew there would be a lot of people there.”
Ferguson said Sturdivant communicated online with undercover NYPD officers and FBI agents who he believed were members of ISIS.
Sturdivant first appeared on the FBI's radar in 2022 as a minor when he left his home dressed all in black to kill a neighbor with a hammer and knife but was stopped by his grandfather, Barnacle said. At that time, no charges were filed. Instead, he was referred and received psychological treatment, Barnacle said, adding that officials did not know the details of that treatment.
The investigation into Sturdivant's latest plot remains active, officials said Friday.
Asked whether it was a lone wolf situation or whether there was any connection to other plots foiled recently in the US, officials at the news conference said they believed Sturdivant acted alone.
In October The FBI says it thwarted a “potential terrorist attack” over Halloween weekend. in Michigan. Federal agents have arrested five people on suspicion of plotting to carry out a terrorist attack in the United States linked to ISIS extremism.
And in December, federal law enforcement arrested four people in connection with an alleged plot to bomb the Los Angeles area on New Year's Eve, although it was not linked to ISIS. Attorney General Pam Bondi said it was planned by members of the Turtle Island Liberation Front, which she called a “far-left” group.
