FBI arrests 18-year-old for ISIS-inspired Mall of America shooting plot
The FBI arrested 18‑year‑old Sheikhdoon Abdullahi Mohamud on Tuesday in Minnesota, charging him with conspiring to carry out an ISIS‑inspired mass shooting at the Mall of America in Bloomington.
Prosecutors say Mohamud planned to kill between 30 and 60 shoppers during a Hmong Arts Celebration scheduled for Oct. 24, a date he told a confidential source would draw a large, diverse crowd. The plot was uncovered after the teenager bought an AK‑47‑style rifle, four 30‑round magazines and 200 live rounds from an undercover FBI informant posing as an ISIS associate.
U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen called the arrest “the culmination of an outstanding law‑enforcement and intelligence operation,” noting that Mohamud was “100% committed” to the attack. FBI Special Agent in Charge Christopher Dotson added that the suspect repeatedly expressed support for foreign terrorist organizations and sought to “provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization.”
According to the federal complaint, Mohamud, a U.S. citizen of Somali descent, tried to pay $600 for the weapon and ammunition and discussed the planned assault in multiple recorded conversations. He allegedly referenced the Mall’s owners, the Ghermezian family, in a derogatory statement and indicated that the attack would advance his extremist ideology.
The investigation, which began in late 2024, involved undercover communications and an attempt by federal agents to meet Mohamud’s parents, which was rebuffed. Authorities say they monitored the suspect for nearly two years before moving in on Tuesday at a public park in Richfield, where he was taken into custody and transferred to Sherburne County Jail.
Mohamud now faces a single count of knowingly receiving a firearm and ammunition with the intent to commit a felony or a federal crime of terrorism. He is scheduled for an initial court appearance later this week, and federal officials indicated that the case will proceed while the FBI continues to investigate any additional accomplices or related threats.