Mall of America (Image: Getty)
A man accused of telling an FBI informant he wanted to attack the Mall of America during the Hmong Arts Celebration on October 24 was arrested at gunpoint Tuesday. Sheikhdoon Abdullahi Mohamud, 18, was arrested during an arranged meeting to buy an AK-47-style rifle for $600, according to a federal criminal complaint filed Wednesday in St. Paul. The teenager had reportedly been under investigation by the FBI for nearly two years. According to CBS Minnesota, a confidential source exchanged “hundreds of bi-directional messages” with Mohamud across multiple social media and encrypted messaging apps from December 2024 until his arrest.
The Associated Press reports Mohamud was arrested in a public park after paying $600 to an undercover FBI employee who was posing as a member of ISIS. Authorities allege he had left the employee’s vehicle with the rifle, four magazines and around 200 rounds of ammunition when he was arrested.
Federal prosecutors have now charged Mohamud over the alleged plot, which authorities say was intended to cause mass casualties in support of ISIS.
U.S. Attorney for Minnesota Daniel Rosen said the FBI arrested Mohamud on Tuesday before charges were filed in federal district court on Wednesday morning.
Rosen said: “The complaint charges Sheikhdoon Abdullahi Mohamud with acquiring an AK-47 assault rifle and 200 rounds of ammunition, in order to commit a federal crime of terrorism, including attempting to provide material support through a designated foreign terrorist organisation.”
He praised the law enforcement operation which led to the arrest, saying officers had been able to “detect a threat and disrupt it” before the alleged plan could be carried out.
🚨 U.S. Attorney for Minnesota Dan Rosen says the FBI has arrested and charged 18-year-old Sheikhdoon Abdullahi Mohamud for planning a mass casualty attack in support of ISIS at the Mall of America https://t.co/MyMZa6NMCo
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) October 7, 2026
Rosen said Mohamud intended to kill, in the defendant’s alleged words, “maybe 30 to 60 people”. He added: “Today’s charges demonstrate that the threat of terrorism in support of ISIS and other foreign terrorist organisations is active and continuing.”
It was not immediately known whether Mohamud had an attorney who could comment on the allegations.
The federal complaint alleges Mohamud initially expressed a desire to travel to Somalia to join al-Shabaab and fight on the group’s behalf or carry out a mass-casualty attack in Minnesota.
The FBI contacted Mohamud’s parents in May 2025, according to the complaint. His father allegedly told agents he did not want to share information about himself or his son and directed them to his attorney.
In July, Mohamud allegedly told the informant he did not have enough money to travel to Somalia and instead discussed carrying out an attack in the United States.
He later allegedly considered targeting either the Mall of America in Bloomington or the Valleyfair amusement park in Shakopee around Christmas.
A man accused of telling an FBI informant he wanted to attack the Mall of America during the Hmong Arts Celebration on Oct. 24 was arrested at gunpoint Tuesday during an arranged meeting to buy an AK-47-style rifle for $600, according to a federal criminal complaint filed Wednesday in St. Paul. https://t.co/oGG7RZD5qE
— CBS News (@CBSNews) October 7, 2026
According to the complaint, Mohamud said he wanted to attack the Mall of America “because it’s owned by Jewish” and was partly inspired by the deadly antisemitic attack at Bondi Beach in Sydney last year.
Prosecutors allege that last month he identified the Hmong Arts Celebration at the mall on October 24 as a potential target, telling the source: “It will be a lot of people.”
The affidavit also alleges Mohamud had been watching footage of the 2016 Pulse nightclub attack in Orlando, Florida, and discussed carrying out a similar shooting. He allegedly wrote: “I just walk in and shoot.”
The complaint also claims Mohamud posted a video on Discord last month pledging allegiance to ISIS.
Court documents identify the weapon involved in Tuesday’s operation as a Norinco AK-47, model Mac-90 Sporter.
Mohamud is accused of receiving the weapon and ammunition knowing, or having reasonable cause to believe, they would be used to commit a felony and a federal crime of terrorism, including providing or conspiring to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organisation.
