Police: Las Vegas teen arrested after supporting Hamas online, researching mass shootings, bombs, firearms
A Las Vegas teenager “on a path to violence” was arrested Saturday and charged as an adult after “showing interest in foreign terrorist groups” including Hamas and researching mass shootings and firearm purchases, according to authorities.
Dylan Amanonce, 18, faces two felony counts of attempting to provide material support for terrorism. He was 17 when, in April and May 2024, FBI agents in Las Vegas searched his home and electronic devices, focusing on roughly 16 group chat messages on his Telegram account, according to his Metropolitan Police Department arrest report.
The report said that the group chat titles were named after various foreign terrorist organizations, and each used a profile picture depicting its respective flag and logo.
“During the casual conversation with the FBI Agents, Amanonce showed interest in Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs), such as HAMAS, related to the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” according to authorities.
Hamas, which, in 1997, was designated a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. secretary of state, led the attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, that killed about 1,200 people and took 251 hostages.
Agents seized Amanonce’s cellphone, computer and six hard drives with the written consent of his parents, one of whom told authorities they wanted “nothing to do with” the contents of the device, the report stated. Authorities, searching the drives, later found that Amanonce had searched on Google for “list of us air bases,” “nevada gun store,” “worst US mass shooting” and “archivation of terror files” among other things.
Amanonce also conducted multiple online searches for chemicals used to make explosives, according to authorities.
Detectives said that, since 2021, Amanonce, who speaks, reads, and writes in Arabic, has supported members of foreign terrorist groups by attempting direct contact, offering to produce propaganda for them, and sharing manuals on how to make explosives and firearms.
“Amanonce’s Google searches and website visited show a clear fixation on acts of terrorism, mass shooters, and violence,” the report said. “Amanonce’s research on firearms, chemicals and terrorism law causes Detective Jacob to believe Amanonce is in the research and planning phase of a potential act of terrorism. … Amanonce is on the path to violence, consistent with radicalized individuals who have been influenced by Foreign Terrorists’ ideology.”
Days after federal agents took the devices, the teen wrote on Telegram, “URGENT MESSAGE. I am in trouble and the FBI wants to take my computer, which has 800GBS of resistance media. I’d hope they’d not arrest me, if I do go to imprisonment, I’d hope that whoever is subscribed, whoever is watching, could pass on with my media.”
Amanonce, who turned 18 in November 2024, continued his actions after becoming an adult, according to police.
In December of that year, he told a Discord user he could make a “DIY bomb,” the report showed. In March 2025, the teen communicated online with an undercover FBI employee posing as a Hamas member, stating that he would store and archive the terrorist group’s videos but would not personally commit a violent or terrorist act.
However, in July, Amanonce posted a 23-second-long video, along with a comment in Arabic that translates to “coming soon,” and the date “8/5/2025,” authorities said.
The report said that, during his post-arrest interview with detectives, Amanonce admitted to communicating with Hamas members. When asked if he thought Hamas is on the “right or wrong side,” Amanonce said, “What Israel has done is terrible, too.”
“When questions about what type of support he provided to FTOs, he said he wouldn’t do any type of fighting or front-line action but would do archiving and editing,” the report said. “He said he doesn’t think Hamas has any plans against the US.”
Amanonce said that, despite his arrest, he would continue supporting the terrorist organizations, according to police.
Contact Akiya Dillon at adillon@reviewjournal.com.
