Man found with machine gun, manifesto referencing UD

A Wilmington man faces charges after federal officials say he was found with a machine gun and a manifesto with a layout of the University of Delaware police station.

According to court documents, New Castle County Police officers were checking Canby Park West at 11:47 p.m., Nov. 24, when they observed a white Toyota Tacoma in the parkland after hours. Officers initiated a traffic stop on the vehicle and contacted the driver. The sole occupant, Luqmaan Khan, 25, was ordered out of the vehicle, but he refused. Police arrested Khan, who was taken into custody.

Inside Khan’s vehicle, officials said, police found a .357-caliber Glock handgun loaded with 27 rounds, which had been inserted into a microplastic conversion firearm brace kit. Police also found three loaded 27-round magazines, a loaded Glock 9mm magazine, an armored ballistic plate and a marble composition notebook.

In the handwritten notebook, officials said, Khan wrote about weapons and firearms, how they could be used in an attack and how law enforcement detection could be avoided once an attack was carried out. The notebook referenced a member of the University of Delaware Police Department by name, and included a layout of a building with entry and exit points under which the words “UD Police Station” were written.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and NCCPD executed a search warrant Nov. 25, at Khan’s Wilmington residence, and they found a Glock 19 9mm handgun equipped with an illegal machine gun conversion device, commonly called a switch. Law enforcement also recovered a .556 rifle with a scope and a red dot sight, 11 more extended magazines, hollow-point rounds of ammunition and a two-plate tactical vest equipped with a single ballistic plate.

The criminal complaint charges Khan with possessing a machine gun. If convicted of the charge, Khan faces a maximum penalty of 10 years of imprisonment. 

“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,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Julianne Murray. “I want to thank our dedicated law enforcement partners at the FBI and the NCCPD for their exceptional work. As always, we are proud to work with them to keep Delaware safe.”