FBI thwarts ISIS-inspired attack at Mall of America

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18-year-old accused arrested after buying AK-47 and ammunition from undercover agent

The FBI has thwarted an alleged terror attack targeting the Mall of America after arresting an 18-year-old American-born US citizen accused of planning to kill dozens of people in an ISIS-inspired mass shooting.

Sheikhdoon Abdullahi Mohamud was arrested Tuesday in a public park in Richfield, Minnesota, after paying $600 to an undercover FBI employee posing as an ISIS member for an AK-47, four 30-round magazines and about 200 rounds of ammunition, according to a federal criminal complaint.

US authorities said the teenager had been communicating with a confidential informant for months as part of an investigation that first brought him to the FBI’s attention in December 2024.

Minnesota US Attorney Daniel Rosen praised the FBI investigation, saying agents detected and disrupted the threat before Mohamud could carry out his alleged plans.

“This was a radicalized young man who needed to be watched,” Rosen said, adding that agents prevented the defendant from carrying out his stated intention to kill “maybe 30 to 60 people.”

FBI Minneapolis Special Agent in Charge Christopher Dotson described the messages allegedly sent by Mohamud as deeply disturbing, saying they showed an “idolization of ideologically motivated violence,” hatred toward people of other faiths and a commitment to killing innocent civilians.

The complaint alleges that Mohamud sought martyrdom through the planned attack.

According to the criminal complaint, Mohamud repeatedly told the FBI informant that he intended to attack non-Muslims at the Mall of America on October 24, when a Hmong Arts Celebration was scheduled to take place.

When the informant asked whether he was serious about carrying out the attack, Mohamud allegedly responded that he was “100% sure” and said he would have backed out if he had not been certain.

Authorities said he later told the informant that the mall was a target because it was “owned by Jewish” people and that he wanted to kill non-Muslims.

The Mall of America, located in Bloomington, Minnesota, is the largest shopping mall in the United States and includes more than 500 stores, a theme park and an aquarium.

The FBI complaint says Mohamud initially expressed interest in travelling overseas to fight for al-Shabaab, a designated foreign terrorist organisation.

He later expressed interest in travelling to Somalia to join ISIS, but ultimately said he could not afford the trip and decided to carry out an attack in the United States instead.

In July, he allegedly discussed targeting either the Mall of America or Valleyfair amusement park in Shakopee. He also allegedly considered purchasing two pistols online before settling on plans for a larger attack.

The complaint says Mohamud told the informant he would not be carrying out the attack for any worldly reason, but “for the sake of Allah only.”

According to court documents, Mohamud expressed admiration for recent terrorist attacks and allegedly supported the January 1, 2025, New Orleans attack in which a man drove a truck into a crowd, killing 14 people before being killed in a shootout with police.

He also allegedly told the FBI source that he was inspired by a deadly antisemitic attack at Sydney’s Bondi Beach.

Last month, he allegedly said he planned to attack the Mall of America during the October 24 Hmong Arts Celebration because “it will be a lot of people.”

The affidavit also says Mohamud had watched videos of the 2016 Pulse nightclub attack in Orlando, Florida, and said he believed he could carry out a similar shooting.

“I just walk in and shoot,” he allegedly wrote in a message.

Court documents further state that Mohamud sent the informant a video through Discord in which he allegedly pledged allegiance to ISIS.

The FBI’s investigation began in December 2024, when the confidential source started exchanging hundreds of messages with Mohamud through multiple social media and encrypted messaging platforms.

By May 2025, investigators were concerned enough about his alleged radicalisation to visit his home. His mother told agents that Mohamud had not yet returned from school and contacted his father.

According to the complaint, his father declined to speak with the agents and said he would provide their contact information to his lawyer.

Rosen urged parents across Minnesota and the United States to take warnings from federal law enforcement seriously if they learn that their children may be becoming radicalised.

“If you get any indication — especially if you hear from federal law enforcement — that your son or daughter is being radicalized,” Rosen said, such warnings should be heeded.

The FBI ultimately arranged for Mohamud to purchase the weapons he allegedly planned to use in the attack.

On Tuesday, he met an undercover employee in the parking area of a public park in Richfield, several miles northwest of the Mall of America, and paid $600 for a Norinco AK-47, model Mac-90 Sporter, four 30-round-capacity magazines and approximately 200 live rounds of 7.62×39-caliber ammunition.

Agents arrested him immediately after the transaction.

A Richfield resident, Mike O’Brien, said he witnessed the arrest while visiting the nearby dog park. He described seeing a large number of agents move in and take down the suspect.

O’Brien said as many as 30 agents were involved in the operation and recalled an FBI agent kicking his vehicle door shut during the arrest.

Mohamud faces one federal count of knowingly receiving a firearm and ammunition with the intent to commit an act of terrorism. He made his initial court appearance Wednesday before US Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Cowan Wright in federal court in St. Paul.

Mohamud appeared in a yellow jail uniform and told the judge that he did not have a job, own a house or car, or have money in a bank account. He was represented by federal public defender Siri Carlson McDowell.

His lawyer and relatives declined to comment following the hearing.

Rosen said the case should serve as a warning to families about the signs of violent radicalisation.

Dotson said the messages allegedly exchanged by Mohamud showed a “blind hatred” of people of other faiths and an intention to commit violence against innocent civilians.

Authorities said Mohamud is an American-born US citizen of Somali descent.

Tens of thousands of people of Somali descent live in Minnesota, with significant migration dating back to the arrival of refugees in the 1990s. Several people from the community have previously been charged with attempting to join ISIS or other terrorist organisations.

The case highlights the FBI’s continuing focus on identifying individuals allegedly influenced by extremist groups before they can carry out attacks against civilians.

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