Federal authorities say they stopped an ISIS-inspired mass-shooting plot aimed at one of the busiest public spaces in America.
Now a new detail is sharpening the debate around the case: the 18-year-old suspect is a U.S.-born citizen of Somali descent whose parents came to the United States from Somalia.
The suspect has been identified as Sheikhdoon Abdullahi Mohamud of Richfield, Minnesota.
U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen announced that Mohamud had been arrested and charged after an FBI operation disrupted the alleged plan before it could be carried out.
U.S. Attorney for Minnesota Dan Rosen says the FBI has arrested and charged 18-year-old Sheikhdoon Abdullahi Mohamud for planning a mass casualty attack in support of ISIS at the Mall of America pic.twitter.com/MyMZa6NMCo
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) October 7, 2026
The Justice Department says Mohamud exchanged hundreds of messages with a confidential source beginning in December 2024. Prosecutors allege that he repeatedly discussed traveling to Somalia to join a designated foreign terrorist organization and said he would carry out a mass-casualty attack in Minnesota if he could not afford to go overseas.
By July 2026, according to the federal complaint, Mohamud had allegedly settled on the Mall of America as his target. Investigators say he claimed the mall was owned by Jews and talked about killing 30 to 60 people so others would be afraid to visit.
Authorities allege that he later focused on the Hmong Arts Celebration scheduled for October 24 because it would draw a large crowd. The complaint says he discussed killing non-Muslims and tried to recruit others to join him.
Federal prosecutors say agents arranged an undercover sale on October 6. Mohamud allegedly paid roughly $600 for an inert AK-47-style rifle, four magazines and about 200 rounds of ammunition before agents moved in and arrested him.
Video coverage of the case laid out the alleged overseas ambitions, the ISIS pledge and the planned attack on the mall.
The citizenship and family background add a difficult dimension to the story.
Trending Politics reports that Mohamud was born in the United States in 2008. Federal sources told Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin that both of his parents are Somali nationals who entered the United States through New York in 2000 and were later naturalized, one in 2010 and the other in 2017.
The manner of their initial entry has not been publicly disclosed. Court records reportedly say Mohamud referred to Somalia as his parents’ homeland.
That does not make his parents responsible for his alleged conduct. It does, however, destroy any easy claim that this was merely a foreign threat trying to cross the border.
Prosecutors are describing a young man born and raised here who allegedly pledged himself to ISIS and wanted to slaughter innocent Americans in a crowded mall.
The case also raises hard questions about what happened after warning signs appeared.
Authorities say the FBI had monitored Mohamud for nearly two years. According to the complaint, agents went to the family home in May 2025 after concerns about extremist material.
His mother said he was not home from school, while his father declined to speak with agents and said he would pass their information to an attorney.
That should chill every parent in America. When federal law enforcement shows up warning that a child may be moving toward violent radicalization, it is not the time to look away.
President Trump praised the agents who disrupted the alleged plot before anyone was hurt.
FBI Director Kash Patel said the Minneapolis field office’s work likely saved lives. The Mall of America said it remains in close contact with local, state and federal law enforcement and maintains multiple layers of security.
Mohamud faces one federal count of knowingly receiving a firearm and ammunition with reason to believe they would be used to commit a felony and a federal crime of terrorism. He is being held pending a detention hearing scheduled for October 19.
The charge is an allegation, and Mohamud is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court. But the public deserves the full story about who authorities say he is, how long the warning signs lasted and how close this alleged plan came to becoming a massacre.
This is a Guest Post from our friends over at WLTReport. View the original article here.
The post NEW: Mall Of America Terror Plot Suspect Identified As U.S.-Born Somali Citizen appeared first on 100PercentFedUp.com.
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