Federal authorities have arrested a man accused of planning an ISIS-inspired mass shooting at the Mall of America in Minnesota, according to newly unsealed court records.
Sheikhdoon Mohamud was taken into custody Tuesday after allegedly purchasing an AK-47 and 200 rounds of ammunition from a confidential FBI source. Prosecutors say he planned to use the weapons to attack a festival taking place at the Mall of America.
Court documents show that the FBI had been investigating Mohamud since December 2024, when a confidential source began exchanging messages with him about either traveling to Somalia to fight for al-Shabaab or carrying out a mass-casualty attack on U.S. soil.
As his plans to attack the mall allegedly became more concrete, FBI agents sold him an AK-47 and ammunition Tuesday and arrested him, according to the court records.
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“This was a radicalized young man who needed to be watched,” U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen said. Agents “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.”
Mohamud was arrested Tuesday in a public park in Richfield, several miles northwest of the Mall of America, after he paid $600 to an undercover FBI employee posing as a member of ISIS for the rifle and 200 rounds of ammunition, according to the agency.
An FBI agent’s sworn complaint alleges that Mohamud repeatedly affirmed in chat messages with the informant that he intended to attack and kill non-Muslims at the mall on Oct. 24, the date of a scheduled Hmong arts celebration.
When asked whether he was sure about committing the attack, Mohamud replied, “yes I am 100% sure,” according to the complaint. He also wrote, “I would have backed out by now if I wasn’t sure.”
Rosen said Mohamud is an American-born U.S. citizen of Somali descent. The agent said Mohamud’s messages expressed admiration for recent terrorist attacks and an interest in traveling to Somalia to join ISIS.
According to the complaint, Mohamud ultimately decided he could not afford to travel to Somalia and instead planned to attack the mall.
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Mall of America leaders called the news “unsettling” in a statement.
“The safety and security of everyone who visits and works at Mall of America has always been our highest priority. We maintain multiple layers of security, both visible and behind the scenes, and will continue to work closely with local, state and federal law enforcement partners,” they said.
Some leaders in the Somali community also called the allegations unsettling.
“The best solution is to be connected to the community and to make sure that we account for our youth,” said Imam Yusuf Abdulle, director of the Islamic Association of North America. He made the comments in an interview with MPR News.
“When you alienate the young ones in a way that is singling them out and saying, you know, they’re Somalis, Muslim terrorists, they’re this and that, insulting them, especially from some political leaders who are trying to get some political goals, you create more problems,” he said.
Mohamud is scheduled for another hearing later this month after appearing in court Wednesday.