An 18-year-old Burger King worker from North Carolina was “prepared for death” as he plotted a New Year’s Eve terrorist attack on a local grocery store and fast food joint in which he planned to maim at least 19 people, officials alleged Friday.
Christian Sturdivant, of Mint Hill outside Charlotte, was arrested Wednesday before he was able to carry out his murderous, ISIS-inspired scheme, US Attorney Russ Ferguson told reporters during a news conference.
“He was preparing for jihad and innocent people were going to die,” said Ferguson of the suspect, describing the would-be attack as “very well-planned.”
Sturdivant was foiled after speaking online with two separate undercover law enforcement officials — one NYPD cop and one FBI agent — who he believed were ISIS collaborators, the prosecutor said.
The suspect — who first allegedly attempted a terror attack at age 14 — had been barred from being online since 2022, but began posting multiple TikTok videos in support of the terror group starting Dec. 18, according to FBI Charlotte special agent in charge James Barnacle.
The feds then opened an investigation and began round-the-clock surveillance of Sturdivant in the two weeks leading up to his arrest.
In online messages, Sturdivant told one of the undercover sources: “I am a follower and soldier of the state … I’m prepared for death,” according to an affidavit by FBI Special Agent John Ryan Anthony.
“I want guns,” the suspect also said, ultimately agreeing to send $500 to $600 to the agent in exchange for a firearm he would collect a couple of days before his planned ambush, according to the affidavit.
Equipped with a Kevlar vest, knives, and hammers, Sturdivant planned to attack his targets when they were crowded with patrons preparing to celebrate the arrival of 2026, Ferguson went on.
Two butcher knives and two hammers were found under the suspect’s bed, along with a written manifesto “where he detailed this attack,” according to the US attorney.
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A hand-written document titled “The New Year’s Eve Attack 2026” was found in Sturdivant’s bedroom trash can and included a section labeled, “martyrdom Op,” court papers claim.
In that screed, Sturdivant said he planned to attack police once they arrived on scene, dying a martyr for his twisted cause.
Another scrawl found in the bin was titled “Manifesto of Jihad,” the filing alleges.
The papers detailed a “Plan A,” or “Burger King Jihad,” and a “Plan B,” or “grocery store Jihad,” the affidavit alleges. It wasn’t clear if Sturdivant was purportedly targeting the same Burger King where he was employed.
In the first plan, Sturdivant’s goal was to injure “8 or more,” and in the second plan, he wanted to injure “11 or more,” the filing claims, by attacking “vital spots” in his victims’ “bodys[sic].”
Sturdivant “pledged himself to ISIS and committed himself to killing Americans on New Year’s Eve,” Barnacle said, specifically targeting Jews, Christians, and members of the LGBTQ community.
The suspect is charged with one count of attempted material support of ISIS and faces up to 20 years behind bars if convicted.
Sturdivant appeared in Charlotte federal court Friday morning and was held without bail.
As a 14-year-old, Sturdivant prompted an FBI probe in 2022 when he tried to leave his house dressed in all black and wielding a hammer and knife to kill a neighbor, the court papers allege.
His grandfather “was able to restrain” him and “bring him back to the house,” the filing claims.
Sturdivant started receiving psychiatric treatment following the incident and was kept off of social media, while his family kept knives and hammers secured away from him, according to Barnacle.
Despite those precautions, the suspect was allegedly radicalized by reading ISIS materials online and began engaging with other terror sympathizers on social media and in chat rooms, Ferguson said.
A lawyer for the suspect didn’t immediately return a request for comment Friday.
The bust follows last year’s ISIS-inspired New Orleans truck attack by Shamsud-Din Jabbar, in which 14 people were killed, and 57 others were injured on Bourbon Street as New Year’s Eve celebrations were winding down.
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