A routine late-night traffic stop in a Wilmington park in Delaware in uncovered a horrific terror plot by a student at University of Delaware to launch a terror attack on the campus police department. Pakistan origin student Luqmaan Khan, 25, resident of Wilmington of Delaware in the North Carolina state of the United States, was arrested after police discovered weapons, ammunition, body Armor, and a detailed notebook detailing assault tactics inside his car.
The arrest took place at around 11:47 p.m. on 24th November when New Castle County Police Department patrol officers spotted Khan’s white Toyota Tacoma at Canby Park West and asked to stop the vehicle. However, when the officers instructed Khan to exit, he refused to follow the orders, and resisted arrest. This led to a brief struggle before he was subdued and taken into custody.
When the vehicle was searched after Luqmaan Khan was arrested, the officers were shocked to discover that they have busted a dangerous terror plot. Inside the car, the police recovered a .357-caliber Glock handgun loaded with 27 rounds. The handgun was equipped with an illegal machine-gun conversion device. Apart from the weapon, police also three more loaded 27-round magazines including on the conversion kit, a loaded Glock 9mm magazine, all stashed in the vehicle’s centre console.
25-Year-Old Delaware Man Charged After Machinegun and Manifesto are Found
According to court documents, on November 24, New Castle County Police Department officers initiated a traffic stop on Luqmaan Khan of Wilmington. During the stop, Khan resisted arrest and was taken into… pic.twitter.com/VogQZ2tUt0— FBI (@FBI) December 2, 2025
Also seized was a bulletproof ballistic plate, capable of withstanding high-velocity rounds, and a composition notebook filled with handwritten notes on warfare techniques, evasion strategies, and explicit plans for an assault on the University of Delaware Police Department. The notebook included a sketched diagram of the UDPD station, marking entry and exit points; the name of at least one specific officer; instructions on concealing identity, such as stealing license plates and covering skin; and details about additional weapons Khan intended to use in the attack.
Khan’s notebook also revealed that he wanted to become a “martyr”. During the interrogation later, he said that being a martyr is “one of the greatest things you can do,” and it was his goal.
Later a search of Khan’s Wilmington residence yielded further incriminating evidence, including another Glock 19 9mm handgun modified with an illegal machine-gun conversion device and a .556 rifle with a scope and a red dot sight, eleven more extended magazines, hollow point rounds of ammunition, and a two-plate tactical vest equipped with a single ballistic plate. These recoveries raised concerns about the scale of his preparations. Notably, there are no weapons registered to Khan in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record, which means he acquired the weapons illegally.
On 26th November 26, Khan was charged with illegally possessing a machinegun.
Luqmaan Khan, an undergraduate student of the university, has since been temporarily removed from the university, according to Interim President Laura Carlson, who called the revelations “frightening to all of us” and affirmed the institution’s commitment to student safety.
Khan has been transferred to FBI custody for deeper investigation into potential motives and accomplices. Howeverm, no ties to organized terrorism have been found till now.
As per police documents, Khan was born in Pakistan but later migrated to the United States and is a US citizen now.