Jan. 2 (UPI) -- The FBI foiled a terror plot to attack people at a grocery store and fast-food restaurant in North Carolina on New Year's Eve, the Justice Department announced Friday.
Authorities arrested Christian Sturdivant, 18, on charges he attempted to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization. The criminal complaint, filed Wednesday, was unsealed after he appeared in federal court in Charlotte on Friday.
Assistant Attorney General John A. Eisenberg said Sturdivant was in the "final stages of planning a mass-casualty attack" at the grocery store in Mint Hill. He allegedly planned to use knives and hammers to carry out the attack, which also would have targeted a fast food restaurant. Eisenberg said Sturdivant wanted to become a martyr for ISIS.
"Notes from his home appear to reflect intent to harm as many people as possible and terrorize the nation," Eisenberg said in a statement.
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