A 16-year-old arrested in connection with an alleged plot to attack a Houston synagogue and “kill as many Jews as possible” is being held as prosecutors weigh a formal charge of conspiracy to commit capital murder, according to local reports.
The juvenile, whose identity has not been released, is accused of involvement in a multistate plot targeting Congregation Beth Israel and the adjacent Shlenker School, a preschool and elementary campus. Authorities say the alleged plan involved using a vehicle to carry out a mass-casualty attack.
Another suspect, Angelina Han Hicks, 18, of Lexington, N.C., has already been charged with felony conspiracy to commit murder and assault with a deadly weapon and is being held on a $10 million bond.
During a court hearing in Harris County, the teen’s court-appointed attorney, Spence Graham, argued that his client’s involvement was limited to receiving messages about the threats in a group chat and that he did not plan or encourage an attack. Prosecutors countered that the teen had previously been suspended from the Alief Independent School District in southwest Houston for making online threats, though he has no prior juvenile criminal record.
While the Harris County District Attorney’s Office said it will accept a conspiracy to commit capital murder charge, prosecutors have not yet filed the charge.
The judge ordered that the teen remain detained until his next hearing on May 7.
The FBI said the investigation began after a tip to North Carolina authorities and involved multiple jurisdictions. Congregation Beth Israel, the oldest Jewish congregation in Texas, temporarily closed its campus following the threat but later reopened.
