An FBI operation successfully stopped an alleged terror attack targeting the Mall of America, federal authorities announced on Wednesday. Law enforcement agents arrested 18-year-old Sheikhdoon Abdullahi Mohamud in Richfield, Minnesota, following a months-long investigation involving a confidential informant and an undercover rifle sale.
According to the federal criminal complaint, Mohamud paid $600 to an undercover FBI employee posing as an ISIS member to purchase an AK-47 assault rifle and 200 rounds of ammunition. Agents arrested the teenager immediately following the transaction at a public park situated several miles northwest of the Mall of America.
Details of the Undercover Operation and Arrest
U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota Daniel Rosen detailed the case during a press conference on Wednesday, October 7, 2026. Rosen described the suspect as a radicalized young man who posed an immediate threat to the public.
“This was a radicalized young man who needed to be watched,” Rosen stated. Federal 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.”
Investigators stated that Mohamud first came to the attention of the FBI in December 2024. Throughout the nearly two-year investigation, the teen communicated extensively via text messages with a confidential FBI source. In these exchanges, Mohamud repeatedly affirmed his desire to carry out a mass casualty attack targeting non-Muslims.
Targeted Date and Suspect Background
Authorities noted that Mohamud specifically targeted October 24 for the assault, coinciding with a scheduled Hmong arts celebration at the Mall of America. Investigators also discovered that the suspect had initially expressed interest in traveling to Somalia to join ISIS, but ultimately decided he could not afford the travel expenses and shifted his focus to an attack on the local shopping center.
Rosen identified Mohamud as an American-born U.S. citizen of Somali descent. In May 2025, as concerns grew regarding the teenager’s radicalization, FBI agents visited his family home. According to the court filing, Mohamud’s mother informed agents he was still at school, while his father declined to speak with investigators and stated he would refer them to legal counsel.
“What I would say to parents all over Minnesota, and all over America: If you get any indication – especially if you hear from federal law enforcement – that your son or daughter is being radicalized, to the point where federal law enforcement wants to come and give you that warning, those are warnings that ought to be heeded,” Rosen emphasized.
Initial Court Appearance
Following his arrest on Tuesday, Mohamud appeared in a yellow jail uniform during his initial federal court hearing in St. Paul on Wednesday. Legal representation for the teenager was not immediately known, and public defenders or private attorneys had not yet entered an appearance on the record.
Federal prosecutors continue to review the evidence gathered through the multi-month sting operation as the case moves forward in the District of Minnesota.
