WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2026 — The FBI says it stopped a terror attack before it could happen. Federal prosecutors in Minnesota announced Wednesday that an 18-year-old man is facing terrorism charges after allegedly plotting a mass shooting at the Mall of America — one of the most-visited shopping and entertainment destinations in the country, sitting just outside Minneapolis in Bloomington.
Sheikhdoon Abdullahi Mohamud, a U.S. citizen of Somali descent, was arrested Tuesday in a park in Richfield, moments after he handed $600 in cash to someone he believed was a black-market gun dealer, according to court records. The "dealer" was an undercover FBI employee. What Mohamud walked away with, prosecutors say, was a Norinco AK-47-style rifle and about 200 rounds of ammunition — and a one-way trip to the Sherburne County Jail.
The charge is stark: knowingly receiving a firearm and ammunition to commit an act of terrorism.
The Alleged PlotA date, a target, and a body count
According to prosecutors, Mohamud had settled on a date and a venue. The target was the Mall of America on Oct. 24, during the Hmong Arts Celebration — a cultural event that draws large crowds. His stated goal, officials said, was to kill "30 to 60" people.
Investigators allege Mohamud recorded a video pledging allegiance to ISIS and posted it to Discord, the messaging platform. Court records describe an investigation that began in December 2024 — nearly two years ago — when Mohamud started exchanging messages with a confidential source about either traveling abroad to join ISIS or al-Shabaab, or carrying out an attack inside Minnesota.
The Mall of America was not the only location under consideration, officials said. Mohamud also discussed Valleyfair, the amusement park in Shakopee, as a possible target around Christmastime.
The InvestigationTwenty-one months of watching
The case against Mohamud was built slowly. Beginning in late 2024, investigators tracked his communications and his growing fixation on violent extremism, according to officials. At one point in 2025, the FBI attempted to meet with Mohamud's parents to discuss concerns about his radicalization. That request, officials said, was rebuffed.
The endgame came Tuesday, when the undercover transaction went down in the Richfield park. Prosecutors say Mohamud believed he was buying a real weapon for a real attack. He was arrested on the spot.
U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen, announcing the charges Wednesday, framed the case as evidence that the danger has not faded. "The threat of terrorism in support of ISIS and other foreign terrorist organizations is active and continuing," Rosen said at the press conference.
Attorney General Todd Blanche amplified the announcement on social media, sharing a screenshot from what he described as Mohamud's ISIS propaganda video.
Close to HomeWhy this one lands differently in Minnesota
For Minnesotans, the Mall of America is not an abstraction. It is where you took your kids on a rainy Saturday, where out-of-town relatives always want to go, where half the state seems to end up during the holidays. The idea of it as a target — during a celebration of Hmong culture, no less, in a state with one of the largest Hmong communities in America — hits with a particular force.
Minnesota has wrestled with extremist recruitment before. Federal prosecutors in the state have brought a string of terrorism-related cases over the past decade, several involving young Somali-American men drawn to ISIS or al-Shabaab. Community leaders and law enforcement have spent years trying to build bridges — and the revelation that the FBI's 2025 outreach to Mohamud's family went nowhere will be part of the hard conversation that follows.
CNN reported Wednesday that it was still working to determine whether Mohamud has legal representation. He remains in custody in Sherburne County as the case moves forward.
This is a developing story. We will update as more details emerge from court proceedings.