An 18-year-old man has been charged in the US after allegedly planning a mass-casualty attack at Minnesota’s Mall of America in support of Islamic State, federal prosecutors said.
Sheikhdoon Abdullahi Mohamud was arrested on Tuesday, October 6, after allegedly paying $600 for an AK-47-style rifle and 200 rounds of ammunition from an undercover FBI employee posing as an Isis supporter, according to the criminal complaint. He was charged the following day with knowingly receiving a firearm and ammunition for use in a felony or federal terrorism offence. ([apnews.com](https://apnews.com/article/366922e521871e5da57c0e86cd7e2b16?utm_source=openai))
Prosecutors allege that Mohamud had discussed attacking the Bloomington shopping complex, which attracts millions of visitors each year, and had expressed support for Isis in messages exchanged with an FBI informant over several months.
The FBI said the investigation began in December 2024. Agents first attempted to speak to Mohamud at his home in May 2025, when he was still 17, but his father reportedly declined an interview and said the family would communicate through a lawyer.
Authorities said Mohamud’s arrest followed the purchase of the rifle and ammunition, which they considered a significant escalation and an immediate threat. He was detained in a public park in Richfield, several miles from the Mall of America, after collecting the weapon, according to the complaint. ([apnews.com](https://apnews.com/article/366922e521871e5da57c0e86cd7e2b16?utm_source=openai))
Alleged Mall of America attack plans
In messages described in the court documents, Mohamud allegedly said he wanted to kill between 30 and 60 people and discussed using an assault rifle. Prosecutors also allege that he referred to non-Muslims as “kuffar”, a term commonly used to describe disbelievers.
The complaint says he expressed a desire to travel to Somalia to join a terrorist organisation. Authorities said Mohamud was born in the United States and that his parents are from Somalia.
US Attorney Daniel Rosen said investigators had disrupted the alleged plan before it could be carried out.
“The FBI yesterday arrested, and today we have charged, an individual who was planning a mass casualty attack in support of ISIS at the Mall of America later this month,” Mr Rosen said at a news conference in Minneapolis.
He added that federal agents had detected the threat before Mohamud could act on his alleged intention to kill “maybe 30 to 60 people”.
Christopher Dotson, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Minneapolis field office, described the messages attributed to Mohamud as “chilling” and said they showed an alleged commitment to ideologically motivated violence.
Mohamud has not been convicted and the allegations against him have not been tested in court. It was not immediately clear whether he had a lawyer who could comment on his behalf. ([apnews.com](https://apnews.com/article/366922e521871e5da57c0e86cd7e2b16?utm_source=openai))
