FBI arrests man for plotting mass shooting at Mall of America

Washington: FBI agents have apprehended an 18-year-old individual named Sheikhdoon Abdullahi Mohamud, who was allegedly plotting to execute a mass shooting at the Mall of America in Minneapolis, ostensibly in the name of ISIS, according to court documents. The arrest transpired on Tuesday following an undercover operation by the FBI, where a federal agent sold Mohamud an AK-47, ammunition, and magazines for the sum of US$600.

The complaint states that Mohamud had informed the undercover agent of his intention to use these items to kill between 30 to 60 people at an event at the mall later in October. Mohamud was subsequently charged with one count of knowingly acquiring a firearm and ammunition with the intent to commit a terrorist act. His legal counsel has not yet provided a response to inquiries regarding the matter.

According to the complaint, Mohamud communicated through various messaging platforms his plans to travel abroad to fight alongside al-Shabaab, a foreign terrorist organization, and if travel was not possible, to carry out a mass shooting. He subsequently expressed a desire to join ISIS. The undercover agent also allegedly discovered Mohamud supporting a man who drove a truck into a crowd in New Orleans on January 1, 2025, resulting in 14 fatalities, before the attacker was killed in a subsequent police engagement.

In July, Mohamud reportedly intended to kill 30 to 60 people at the Mall of America, citing that the mall's proprietors were Jewish and he sought to eliminate non-Muslims. He informed the undercover agent that he had planned the attack for October 24, as there was a Hmong Arts Celebration on that day at the mall. On Tuesday, Mohamud allegedly purchased the AK-47, four 30-round-capacity magazines, and approximately 200 rounds of ammunition from the FBI undercover agent.

Following this transaction, FBI agents promptly arrested Mohamud. Mohamud made his first court appearance before US Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Cowan Wright on Wednesday.