An 18-year-old Minnesota man who pledged allegiance to ISIS and paid cash for an AK-47-style rifle to attack the Mall of America is in custody after the FBI shut down his plan.
Federal agents arrested Sheikhdoon Abdullahi Mohamud after he bought a rifle, magazines, and roughly 200 rounds of ammunition from an undercover FBI employee, newly filed court papers show. He had spent months talking about a mass shooting at the Bloomington, Minnesota landmark and about killing “kuffar,” the court filings state.
Fox News reported that Mohamud faces a charge 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. The rifle he took possession of had been rendered inoperable. The ammunition was live.
The FBI Minneapolis Field Office opened the investigation around December 2024. Agents used a confidential human source who communicated with Mohamud over encrypted messaging and social media.
In May, Mohamud allegedly told the source he was “so excited to make hijrah,” wanted to go to Somalia, get married, and “fight the enemies of Allah.” He said he planned to work about six weeks to save $2,000 for a plane ticket, the affidavit states.
By July, the money was not there. He allegedly wrote that he did not have enough to travel to Somalia and added, “so i will do attack here.” He later discussed buying two pistols online and going to the Mall of America or the Minnesota State Fair around Christmas.
That shift, from joining al-Shabaab overseas to striking a crowded American mall, is what the court papers lay out in plain terms. He was not describing a protest. He was describing a shooting.
In September, Mohamud allegedly told the source he could not wait.
The affidavit captures him saying:
"I can’t wait until I kill kuffar man. October 24 is the day insha Allah,"
Asked about that date, he allegedly pointed to a “Hmong Arts Celebration” at the Mall of America and referred to “a lot of people.” He also allegedly sent the source a selfie-style video pledging allegiance to ISIS and its leader.
On Sept. 25, the source told him a “brother” could sell him an AK-style rifle, magazines, and ammunition. Mohamud allegedly said he wanted the weapon fully automatic.
On Tuesday, Mohamud met the man he believed was an ISIS-linked seller. The man was an undercover FBI employee. Mohamud allegedly paid $800 for an AK-47-style rifle, four magazines, and about 200 rounds. During the meeting he allegedly said he planned to carry out a shooting at a “kuffar festival” at the Mall of America and talked about driving “straight to the crowded place and start shooting.”
He left the vehicle with the rifle, magazines, and ammunition in a duffel bag. FBI agents arrested him at gunpoint.
FBI Minneapolis Field Office Special Agent in Charge Christopher Dotson addressed the case at a press conference Wednesday.
Dotson said:
"Muhammad met with someone he believed to be a loyal member of ISIS to attempt to purchase an AK-47 rifle, knowing it would be used in a felony or federal crime of terrorism,"
He added that Mohamud “planned to use the gun he bought in a high-traffic public area just a few weeks' time in support of a designated foreign terrorist organization.”
FBI Director Kash Patel released a statement on the arrest. He said the suspect “allegedly obtained a weapon he hoped to use in a mass casualty attack in support of ISIS, but this FBI arrested him and put a stop to his plans.”
Patel also pointed to broader counterterror results under his leadership:
"Once again, this FBI is moving more effectively than we ever have before at stopping terrorists before they can attack Americans, with over 1,100 individuals prevented from conducting attacks, over 4,000 foreign terrorist organization related disruptions and arrests, a 38% increase, and more,"
He thanked the Minneapolis field office and said the agents “likely saved lives,” adding that the bureau will keep using every resource to detect and prevent terrorism and break up networks across the country.
The public record in the filings is specific on method and motive as alleged: months of radical talk, a turn from overseas “hijrah” to a domestic attack, a pledge to ISIS, a named target date tied to a crowded mall event, and a cash buy of a rifle and live ammo from someone he thought was a fellow extremist.
The Mall of America sits in Bloomington as one of the country’s best-known shopping centers. The Minnesota State Fair was also named in the earlier talk as a possible Christmas-season target. No injuries, property damage, or public closures are described in the available court account, because agents made the arrest before a shot was fired.
Open questions remain outside that affidavit narrative. The exact calendar date of the Tuesday arrest and Wednesday press conference is not fixed beyond those weekday labels. The full docket number, statutory citation text, counsel status, plea, and next hearing date are not laid out in the reporting package. Whether a “Hmong Arts Celebration” was in fact set for Oct. 24 is presented as Mohamud’s stated reason, not as an independently confirmed event calendar entry in the same material.
Name spellings also vary in official remarks, Mohamud in the case identification, with Muhammad and Mohammed appearing in quoted law-enforcement phrasing, but the defendant described is the same 18-year-old Minnesota man.
When an 18-year-old can move from overseas jihad talk to a mall shooting plan on American soil, the only acceptable outcome is the one the FBI delivered here: the rifle never reaches the food court, and the plot ends in handcuffs instead of headlines about body counts.
