A Minnesota man was charged Wednesday over an alleged plot to carry out a terror attack at the Mall of America and other locations in the state, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and FBI have announced. In a criminal complaint and affidavit filed in the U.S. District of Minnesota, the FBI said agents had been investigating the 18-year-old suspect—Sheikhdoon Abdullahi Mohamud—since December 2024, during which time he allegedly spoke to a source online about traveling to Somalia to join a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) to then carry out an attack in Minnesota.
"The American people and the citizens of Minnesota should know from yesterday's arrest, which was the culmination of an outstanding law enforcement and intelligence operation, that federal law enforcement is standing up to their calling to protect us," U.S. Attorney for Minnesota Daniel Rosen said at a press conference. Mohamud was charged with one federal count of knowingly receiving a firearm and ammunition while knowing or having reasonable cause to believe they would be used to commit a felony and a federal crime of terrorism, after he allegedly accepted an AK-47 style rifle and about 200 rounds of ammunition on October 6, believing the weapons would be used in support of a terror attack connected to ISIS.
The affidavit filed Wednesday said Mohamud lived with his mother in Minnesota, attending school for part of the time the investigation was underway. At one point, he sent photos of himself to the FBI's source as he outlined a plan to meet and purchase the firearm at the Mall of America. Newsweek reached out to the DOJ and FBI via email for further comment Wednesday afternoon.
The affidavit, filed by Special Agent Keegan Rupenthal, portrayed what was described as an evolution from wanting to travel overseas and join a terrorist group to allegedly carrying out a terrorist attack in Minnesota. According to Rupenthal, Mohamud initially told a confidential source he wanted to travel to Somalia and fight for ISIS, but over time he repeatedly said that if he could not afford to do that, he would instead conduct an attack on U.S. soil. The investigator alleged he discussed several possible attack scenarios, including a shooting targeting the Mall of America during the Christmas season.
A mass-casualty shooting was described, with 30 to 60 fatalities the alleged goal. Rupenthal outlined how Mohamud planned to switch tactics if the shooting was not possible, instead renting a truck to drive through a crowd. Through multiple conversations with the source on various social media platforms and accounts, Mohamud repeatedly expressed his desire to carry out the attack, Rupenthal alleged, at one point saying he was 100 percent committed.
The agent also detailed a video sent by Mohamud to the source in September 2026, in which he alleged pledged allegiance to ISIS leader Abu Hafs al-Hashimi al-Qurashi. Underneath that video, the suspect said he made the video in order to show that if he carried out his planned attack, people would know that he gave his allegiance to the group. This is a breaking news story.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
