Charlotte-area teen charged with planning ISIS-inspired New Year's Eve attack

Joe Marusak, The Charlotte Observer on Jan 2, 2026

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An 18-year-old from Mint Hill planned to use knives and hammers to kill people in a grocery store and fast-food restaurant in an ISIS-inspired New Year’s Eve attack, U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson said Friday.

FBI agents foiled Christian Sturdivant’s plans and charged him with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, Ferguson said at a news conference after Sturdivant’s first appearance in federal court in Charlotte.

“He was targeting Jews, Christian and LGBTQ (persons),” Ferguson said.

Sturdivant considered various Mint Hill grocery stores for his attack and planned to kill people in whichever he found most crowded, said James Barnacle Jr., special agent in charge of the FBI in North Carolina.

Monday night, law enforcement officers conducted a search warrant at Sturdivant’s home and found handwritten documents, one titled “New Years Attack 2026,” according to a criminal complaint in U.S. District Court.

The document listed items planned for the attack, including a vest, mask, tactical gloves and two knives, and mentioned stabbing as many civilians as possible, up to 20 or 21, the complaint says.

A section of the note labeled “martyrdom Op” mentioned attacking responding police officers so Sturdivant “would die a martyr,” according to the document.

Sturdivant lived with a relative who tried to secure knives and hammers from him, the complaint says, although FBI agents seized two hammers and two butcher knives from under his bed, the complaint says.

An initial Charlotte Observer search of N.C. court records found no prior criminal charges for Sturdivant, and a spokesperson for the U.S. attorney’s office said he had no prior federal charges.

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