Delaware student charged after police uncover weapons and notes about attack

A University of Delaware student has been charged with illegally possessing a machinegun after police found weapons, high-capacity magazines, and a manifesto describing how an attack could be carried out, according to federal prosecutors.

The charge stems from a traffic stop conducted late on November 24 in Wilmington’s Canby Park West, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Delaware. Officers with the New Castle County Police Department said they approached a white Toyota Tacoma parked in the area after hours and contacted the driver, identified as 25-year-old Luqmaan Khan of Wilmington.

According to court documents, Khan refused orders to exit the vehicle and resisted arrest before being taken into custody. Officers said they recovered a loaded .357 Glock inserted into a firearm conversion brace kit, along with multiple loaded 27-round magazines, a loaded Glock 9mm magazine, an armored ballistic plate, and a handwritten notebook.

The notebook contained references to additional weapons, descriptions of how they could be used in an attack, and notes on how to evade detection, according to prosecutors. It also included the name of a University of Delaware police officer and a hand-drawn layout labeled “UD Police Station,” according to the complaint.

Federal agents and county police executed a search warrant at Khan’s Wilmington residence the following day. Prosecutors said agents recovered a Glock 19 equipped with an illegal machinegun conversion device, a .556 rifle with optics, eleven extended magazines, hollow-point ammunition, and a tactical vest containing a ballistic plate.

The FBI and the New Castle County Police Department are conducting the investigation. “This case is a quintessential example of federal and state law enforcement collaborating to neutralize a grave threat to Delaware before the worst could come to pass,” Acting U.S. Attorney Julianne Murray said.

The University of Delaware said Tuesday that the student has been temporarily separated from the university and banned from all campuses while legal proceedings continue.

In a message to the campus community, officials said there is “no known or immediate threat” to students or staff but acknowledged that the evidence described in the federal complaint is alarming.

Khan is charged with possessing a machinegun, a federal offense that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.