The suspect accused of plotting a New Year’s Eve attack on a grocery store and fast-food restaurant in North Carolina worked at a Burger King and hid knives and hammers under his bed despite his grandparents trying to secure the potential weapons, prosecutors revealed Friday. 

Christian Sturdivant, 18, of Mint Hill, a town outside Charlotte, was arrested and charged with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina Russ Ferguson said.   

“What we do know is that the grandfather secured the knives in the home, secured the hammers, tried to make sure that Mr. Sturdivant did not have them. And, yet, when we executed the search warrant, they were found under his bed,” Ferguson told reporters at a news conference Friday. 

Ferguson added the attack was planned to take place in Mint Hill, and the suspect worked at a Burger King.

FBI DISRUPTS ALLEGED ISIS-INSPIRED NEW YEAR’S EVE ATTACK PLOT TARGETING NC GROCERY STORE, FAST-FOOD RESTAURANT

“He was preparing for jihad, and innocent people were going to die. And we were very, very fortunate they did not,” Ferguson said. “I can tell you from his notes he was targeting Jews, Christians and LGBTQ individuals.” 

James C. Barnacle, Jr., special agent in charge of the FBI’s Charlotte Field Office, said Friday that Sturdivant first caught the bureau’s attention in January 2022, when he was still a juvenile. 

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“He was in contact via social media with an unidentified ISIS member overseas. Sturdivant received direction from this unidentified ISIS member to dress in all black, knock on people’s doors, and attack them with a hammer. In fact, Sturdivant did dress in all black. He left this house with a hammer, and fortunately his family stepped in,” Barnacle continued. “No charges were filed at that time. He was referred for psychological care, and he underwent psychological care.

“Christian Sturdivant pledged his loyalty to ISIS and committed himself to commit to killing Americans on New Year’s Eve. 

“We do have some intelligence that he was looking at a grocery store because there would be a lot of people there. He knew there would be a lot of people there grocery shopping. … He was looking for a high-profile place,” Barnacle added. 

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“There’s a couple grocery stores in Mint Hill. He wasn’t set on just one. He was looking at multiple, whichever one had the most people in it.”

A 15-year-old boy has been charged as an adult with murder after an Uber driver was found shot to death early New Year’s Day after a carjacking in a suburban Atlanta community, authorities said.

The victim was identified as Cesar Tejada, 58, of Grayson, Georgia, who was working as an Uber driver at the time of the shooting, according to a release from the Lawrenceville Police Department. Authorities said that Tejada was a father of two.

Police responded around 5:20 a.m. Jan. 1 to a report of a person lying in the roadway in the suburban community of Lawrenceville, which is approximately 30 miles northeast of Atlanta. Officers found Tejada suffering from a gunshot wound, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Investigators determined that Tejada had picked up the suspect around 4:13 a.m. and transported him to Groveland Parkway. Police said the suspect exited the back seat, shot Tejada and left him in the road before fleeing the scene.

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Using FLOCK camera technology and working in partnership with Uber, detectives tracked Tejada’s vehicle back to the area where the trip originated. Officers later detained the suspect, identified as 15-year-old Christian Simmons, after observing him walking in the roadway near his residence, police said.

Simmons has been charged as an adult with murder. Police initially withheld his identity due to his age.

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In a statement to Fox News Digital, an Uber spokesperson said the company is saddened by Tejada’s death.

“We’re saddened by this devastating loss, and our condolences go out to the driver’s family during this incredibly difficult time,” the spokesperson said. “We’ve been in contact with the Lawrenceville Police Department to help support their investigation.”

Uber confirmed the rider account associated with the incident has been permanently banned. The company said it employs former law enforcement professionals to assist with investigations and offers in-app safety features such as an emergency assistance button, GPS trip tracking and rider verification.

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Police described Tejada as a husband and father of two and extended condolences to his family. The investigation remains ongoing, and anyone with information is urged to contact the Lawrenceville Police Department.

In 2025, idyllic small towns across America were interrupted by acts of violence from Mississippi to Montana, Arkansas to Washington state.

The murders struck during homecoming weekends, inside neighborhood bars, at campgrounds and along hiking trails.

Together, the cases exposed vulnerabilities in small-town America: unresolved personal disputes, untreated mental health crises and domestic violence.

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Devil’s Den, Arkansas:

In northwest Arkansas, a visit to a state park ended in a double homicide.

Clinton Brink, 43, and Cristen Brink, 41, the parents of three children, were stabbed to death while hiking at Devil’s Den State Park on July 26.

The couple had recently moved to Arkansas to be closer to family and begin a new chapter. Friends described them as gentle, active and devoted parents.

“They loved to take the girls and go hiking,” said Mary Hinebauch, a friend from their former church in Montana. “That wasn’t an unnatural place for them to be.”

The Arkansas State Police arrested Andrew James McGann, 28, charging him with murdering the couple. Investigators said the killings appeared unprovoked. The arrest came a day after police released “a composite sketch of a man” they were “seeking to identify for questioning in connection with the double homicide.”

“This was a very safe place to be,” Hinebauch said. “It’s pure evil.”

To read more about this case, click here.

Leland, Mississippi:

On Oct. 11, 2025, just after midnight in Leland, Mississippi, a small city in Washington County where the population hovers around 3,700, the excitement of homecoming weekend was shattered when a shooting broke out following a football game.

At least six people were killed and at least 19 others wounded.

The FBI’s Jackson Field Office announced that four people were arrested in connection with the shooting.

Three men, identified as Teviyon Powell, 29; William Bryant, 29; and Morgan Lattimore, 25, were charged with capital murder. A fourth suspect, Latoya Powell, 44, was charged with attempted murder.

MUGSHOT OF RURAL MONTANA BAR MASSACRE SUSPECT RELEASED AFTER WEEK-LONG MANHUNT

Investigators said they believe the violence stemmed from a personal dispute, though no final motive has been confirmed.

“This is not who we are as a community,” Leland Mayor John Lee said. “Our hearts are broken for these families.”

To read more about this case, click here.

Anaconda, Montana:

In Anaconda, Montana, a quiet bar in a former mining town with about 9,000 people was interrupted when a man opened fire on Aug. 1, 2025.

Authorities said that Michael Paul Brown, 45, an Army veteran and longtime local resident, entered The Owl Bar around 10:30 a.m. and opened fire. Authorities said Brown lived next door to the bar and was known to the patrons inside.

Four people were killed: Daniel Edwin Baillie, 59; Nancy Lauretta Kelley, 64; David Allen Leach, 70; and Tony Wayne Palm, 74. Kelley was working as the bartender; the others were regular customers.

Brown fled, sparking a massive weeklong manhunt involving more than 130 local, state and federal law enforcement officers. The FBI, ATF, U.S. Marshals Service and Montana National Guard all assisted, deploying helicopters, air patrols and ground teams across rugged terrain.

MONTANA MANHUNT EXPANDS FOR EX-SOLDIER SUSPECT SEEN WITH STOLEN SURVIVAL GEAR AFTER BAR MASSACRE

Residents told Fox News Digital that fear settled over the town as the search dragged on.

“The town is just scared,” one bartender said. “Everybody’s on edge.”

Brown was captured Aug. 8 near a barn about five and a half miles from the bar. Authorities said he was armed.

Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen called the killings “cold-blooded.”

To read more about this case, click here.

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Wenatchee, Washington:

In May 2025, a manhunt was launched for the fugitive father of three accused of murdering his three daughters before disappearing into the wilderness. 

The Chelan County Sheriff’s Office said Travis Decker, a military veteran and wilderness survivalist, failed to return his three daughters from a court-mandated custody visit in late May 2025. Days later, the bodies of Paityn Decker, 9; Evelyn Decker, 8; and Olivia Decker, 5, were found at a Chelan County campground.

According to police, the girls had been bound with zip ties and suffocated.

A manhunt followed, spanning rugged mountain terrain and involving multiple law enforcement agencies. In September, human remains were discovered on Grindstone Mountain, less than a mile from where the girls’ bodies had been found. DNA testing later confirmed the remains belonged to Decker.

“This will bring a close to our case,” Chelan County Sheriff Mike Morrison said after the DNA results were confirmed. “We wanted to show honor to them and let them know we haven’t forgotten.”

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Court records showed Decker’s ex-wife had previously petitioned to modify the parenting plan, citing his worsening mental health and unstable living conditions.

To read more about this case, click here.

Fox News Digital’s Peter D’Abrosca, Julia Bonavita, Michael Dorgan and Greg Wehner contributed to this report.