Illegal machine gun, campus map, ‘kill all’ diary: Pakistani immigrant student held over ‘martyrdom’ plot at University of Delaware

Park stop to ‘martyrdom’ scare: How police say they foiled a University of Delaware attack plot. (Images from New York Post)

A late-night police check in a Delaware park has led to the arrest of a University of Delaware student accused of plotting an armed attack on the university’s police department, after officers and federal agents say they recovered guns, body armor and a notebook filled with 'martyrdom' writings and tactical plans.

Luqmaan Khan, 25, a Wilmington resident and undergraduate at the University of Delaware, has been charged federally with illegal possession of a machine gun. Investigators cited by Associated Press say he outlined plans to 'kill all' in an attack on campus police and expressed a desire to die a martyr.

Khan, who was born in Pakistan but has lived in the United States since youth and is an American citizen, remains in custody while the FBI and local police investigate whether he acted alone and whether additional charges will follow.

Late-night patrol, nervous driver, and a notebook

Shortly before midnight on November 24, New Castle County police officers were conducting a routine property check at Canby Park West in Wilmington when they spotted a white Toyota Tacoma parked in the closed park.

Officers approached the vehicle and found Khan alone inside. Authorities say he appeared 'visibly nervous,' avoided eye contact and repeatedly reached toward the same area inside the truck, then refused orders to step out of the vehicle. He was detained for resisting arrest.

A search of the truck turned up a Glock .357 handgun equipped with a stabilising brace kit and conversion device, extended high-capacity magazines, a ballistic armor plate, body armor, binoculars, a laptop and a composition notebook. Prosecutors say the conversion device effectively turned the handgun into a submachine-type weapon capable of firing roughly 1,200 rounds per minute.

‘Kill all, martyrdom’ and a sketch of campus police

According to an FBI complaint and local police statements, the notebook contained handwritten references to “urban warfare,” detailed “warfare techniques,” and combat tactics for various weapons.

Investigators say the pages included a sketch of a University of Delaware Police Department building, labeled as such, with entry and exit points marked and notes on the times of day associated with those locations. A specific campus police officer was named as a target, though authorities have not disclosed why.

One phrase cited in court documents, 'battle efficiency: kill all, martyrdom,' appears repeatedly in the notebook, along with instructions on how to evade law enforcement after an attack. Authorities have described the writings as 'premeditated assault plans' and 'urban warfare techniques.'

After his arrest, AP reports, Khan allegedly told investigators that becoming a martyr was “one of the greatest things you can do,” and that martyrdom was a goal, according to the federal affidavit.

FBI search finds more guns, armor and a ‘switch’

Following the park arrest, the FBI and New Castle County police obtained a warrant and searched Khan’s Wilmington home. Inside, they say they found an AR-style rifle with a red-dot scope, additional extended magazines, hollow-point ammunition, body armor and a second Glock handgun, New York Post reported.

That second handgun, according to court filings, was fitted with an illegal conversion device known as a 'switch,' which can turn a semi-automatic pistol into a fully automatic machine gun. Prosecutors say this modified weapon is the basis for the federal machine-gun charge.

Authorities also told NYP that none of the weapons or devices recovered from Khan’s truck or home were legally registered.

So far, Khan faces a federal charge of illegal possession of a machine gun. Additional state or federal charges could be filed as investigators review the weapons, writings and digital evidence.

Campus on alert, questions over motive

The University of Delaware has confirmed that Khan is enrolled as an undergraduate and said he has been temporarily separated from the university and banned from all campuses while the case proceeds. Interim president Laura Carlson told students and staff that there is 'no known or immediate threat' to the wider university community, but called the alleged plan 'frightening to all of us.'

Federal documents say Khan had no prior criminal record. Neighbours told local media he had previously been friendly but had become more withdrawn in recent months, though investigators have not publicly linked those changes to a specific motive or ideology.

‘They did police work’: how a routine check escalated

New Castle County Police officials have framed the case as an example of basic patrol work preventing potential tragedy.

“They just randomly drove up in the Canby Park West, and when they located the vehicle in the park, once they made contact with the individual, rather than just shooing the person out, saying, ‘Hey, the park is closed,’ they did police work,” Master Cpl. Richard Chambers told local media.

FBI officials have echoed that view, praising the patrol officers for escalating the encounter when Khan’s behavior and the subsequent search raised red flags.

Khan is being held in federal custody pending a detention hearing scheduled for December 11. His federal public defender has not commented publicly on the allegations.