Federal authorities have arrested an 18-year-old Minnesota man accused of plotting an ISIS-inspired mass shooting at the Mall of America, disrupting what prosecutors say was a nearly two-year effort to carry out a terrorist attack.
Sheikhdoon Abdullahi Mohamud was arrested Tuesday in Richfield, several miles from the massive Bloomington shopping complex, after allegedly purchasing an AK-47-style rifle and 200 rounds of ammunition from an undercover FBI employee.
Mohamud paid $600 for the weapon and ammunition and was arrested immediately afterward, according to a federal criminal complaint unsealed Wednesday. “This was a radicalized young man who needed to be watched,” U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen said during a news conference announcing the arrest.
Investigators were able to “detect a threat, and disrupt it, before the defendant carried out his intention to kill, in his words, maybe 30 to 60 people,” Rosen said. Mohamud, a U.S.-born citizen of Somali descent, is charged with knowingly receiving a firearm and ammunition while knowing or having reasonable cause to believe they would be used to commit a felony or federal crime of terrorism.
According to prosecutors, the FBI began investigating Mohamud in December 2024, when a confidential source began communicating with him. Those conversations allegedly revealed that Mohamud initially wanted to travel overseas and fight alongside either ISIS or al-Shabaab, both U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organizations.
He eventually shifted his attention toward carrying out an attack inside the United States after concluding that he could not afford to travel overseas, investigators allege. Prosecutors say Mohamud repeatedly discussed killing non-Muslims and expressed admiration for previous terrorist attacks.
The complaint alleges that he referenced both the 2025 New Orleans New Year’s attack and Omar Mateen, who killed 49 people at Orlando’s Pulse nightclub in 2016. By December 2025, investigators say Mohamud was increasingly focused on ISIS. He allegedly pledged allegiance to the terrorist organization and began discussing possible targets for an attack.
Authorities say he eventually selected the Mall of America and focused on an Oct. 24 Hmong Arts Celebration expected to attract large crowds. Mohamud allegedly told the FBI source that he hoped to kill at least 30 people and potentially as many as 60.
The complaint alleges that Mohamud also made antisemitic statements while explaining his choice of target and said he wanted to attack non-Muslims. By August, according to prosecutors, the alleged plot had moved from discussions toward acquiring weapons.
Mohamud began arranging with the confidential source to purchase an AK-47-style rifle, magazines and ammunition.
On Tuesday, he met someone he believed was associated with ISIS at a public park in Richfield, authorities said. The individual was actually an undercover FBI employee. After Mohamud allegedly purchased the rifle and 200 rounds of ammunition, agents moved in and arrested him.
