Federal authorities arrested 18-year-old Sheikhdoon Abdullahi Mohamud on Tuesday in a Richfield, Minnesota, parking lot moments after he allegedly took possession of an AK-47 style rifle and roughly 200 rounds of ammunition that court documents say he planned to use in a mass casualty shooting at the Mall of America. The criminal complaint unsealed Wednesday in U.S.
District Court in Minnesota charges Mohamud with one count of knowingly receiving a firearm and ammunition knowing, or having reasonable cause to believe, that the items would be used to commit a felony and a federal crime of terrorism. The statute is 18 U.S.C. § 924(h). Prosecutors allege the underlying terrorism offense includes providing, attempting to provide, or conspiring to provide material support to the Islamic State, a designated foreign terrorist organization, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2339B.
To convict, the government would have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Mohamud knowingly received the specific firearm and ammunition and that he knew or had reasonable cause to believe they would be used to commit such a crime. The charge is an allegation. Mohamud is presumed innocent. According to the 23-page affidavit of FBI Special Agent Keegan Rupenthal, agents opened the investigation in December 2024 after Mohamud, then 16, began exchanging messages with a confidential human source.
Over nearly two years the two traded hundreds of messages on platforms that included TikTok, Telegram, and Discord. Investigators say Mohamud first spoke of traveling to Somalia to join the Islamic State or al-Shabaab and fight overseas. When he later told the source he lacked the money for the trip, the conversations shifted toward an attack inside Minnesota that he described as being carried out for the sake of Allah and in support of the Islamic State.
Court documents allege that Mohamud repeatedly expressed hatred of non-Muslims, whom he called kuffar, and discussed killing white people. He is accused of telling the source he wanted to get a gun “and just start killing a bunch of white ppl” and that he wanted to be martyred. By mid-2026 the alleged focus narrowed to the Mall of America in Bloomington. Mohamud allegedly wrote that the mall was owned by Jewish people and that killing even 30 people there would keep others from returning.
He also discussed other possible sites, including Valleyfair around Christmas, and a fallback plan of renting a truck and driving into a crowd if a shooting proved impossible. In September 2026, according to the affidavit, Mohamud identified October 24 as the day of the attack because a Hmong Arts Celebration was scheduled at the mall and “it will be a lot of people.” He allegedly told the source, “I can’t wait until I kill kuffar man.
October 24 is the day insha Allah,” and stated he was “100% commited” to dying for the sake of Allah only. Investigators say he sent a selfie-style video pledging allegiance to the Islamic State and its leader. During the October 6 meeting he allegedly described himself as an active member of ISIS and cited anger over the treatment of Muslims after a May 2026 shooting at an Islamic center in San Diego as part of his motivation.
He is also accused of expressing admiration for earlier attacks, including the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting and the 2025 New Year’s Eve attack in New Orleans. The investigation reached its end on October 6 when the confidential source arranged a meeting with a person Mohamud believed was an ISIS supporter. That person was an undercover FBI employee. Mohamud paid $600 in cash for a Norinco AK-47 assault rifle, model Mac-90 Sporter, four magazines, and approximately 200 live rounds of 7.62x39 ammunition, according to the complaint.
The rifle had been rendered inoperable before the exchange. After Mohamud left the vehicle carrying the items in a duffel bag, agents arrested him at gunpoint in the parking lot of a public park in Richfield, several miles from the mall. No one was injured. U.S.
Attorney Daniel Rosen said at a Wednesday news conference that the arrest was the culmination of an outstanding law enforcement and intelligence operation and that agents disrupted the threat before Mohamud could carry out his stated intention to kill maybe 30 to 60 people. Rosen added that the charges show the threat of terrorism in support of ISIS remains active.
FBI Minneapolis Special Agent in Charge Christopher Dotson said Mohamud allegedly sought martyrdom in plans to murder innocent civilians and described himself as fully committed to the attack. Dotson noted that agents had tried to speak with Mohamud’s parents in May 2025 after signs of online radicalization appeared; a woman believed to be his mother said he was not home, and his father declined to share information and said he would pass the agents’ contact details to an attorney.
Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges, whose department covers the Mall of America, said he was horrified by the allegations. The mall issued a statement acknowledging that the news is unsettling for guests, tenants, and employees, thanking the FBI and local partners for their work, and noting that it maintains multiple layers of security. Mohamud made an initial appearance Wednesday before Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Cowan Wright, was appointed a federal defender, and was ordered held pending an October 19 detention hearing.
No public statement from the defense has been released. Rosen said Mohamud is charged as a single actor and that the investigation continues. The timeline in the affidavit shows a progression that officials say justified intervention only after the plan became concrete. Concern began with December 2024 messages about overseas travel.
By May 2025 agents were worried enough to approach the family. Through 2026 the alleged talk moved from general desire for martyrdom to specific dates, locations, casualty estimates, and a request for a rifle and ammunition. Rosen said the appearance of dates and methods prompted the decision to act this week, before the October 24 event.
