EAST ELMHURST, Queens — A 19-year-old is expected in court Friday after he was arrested in Queens on as part of an FBI national security investigation, officials and law enforcement sources said.
The teen was texting with a man he thought was an ISIS sympathizer, saying he wanted to carry out an ISIS-style attack, sources said. Law enforcement carried out a search warrant at the teen's East Elmhurst residence on Thursday night. About a dozen FBI agents could be seen going in and out.
A woman who lives in the area said the people in that residence don't speak to anyone in the neighborhood.
"Just thinking about what could have happened here hurts me," she said.
The teen had only moved in to the area a short time ago, neighbors said.
The 19-year-old is a Queens resident who was born in Pakistan, a law enforcement official told CNN. Authorities allege he was inspired by ISIS and planned to conduct a stabbing or bombing attack in Queens.
According to the official, the man was under constant surveillance by law enforcement authorities and did not pose a danger to the public.
Officials said they would release more information when they were able to.
A former counterterrorism cop who worked cases after 9/11 said the FBI can choose to 'classify this incident and not make any of the details public.
