Federal prosecutors charged an 18-year-old Richfield, Minnesota, man with receiving a firearm and ammunition to commit a federal crime of terrorism, accusing him of plotting a mass-casualty shooting at the Mall of America in support of ISIS. The U.S. Department of Justice announced the charge against Sheikhdoon Abdullahi Mohamud on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026, one day after his arrest.
The criminal complaint, detailed in a release from the Department of Justice’s Office of Public Affairs, lays out an alleged plot that investigators say unfolded over nearly two years. Mohamud has not entered a plea, and the allegations remain accusations contained in a federal complaint, not proven facts.
What The Complaint Alleges
According to the complaint, Mohamud began exchanging messages with a confidential source in or about December 2024, eventually sending hundreds of messages across multiple social media and encrypted messaging platforms, according to the Justice Department. CNN reported that the exchange between Mohamud and an undercover source stretched across 21 months.
Prosecutors say Mohamud repeatedly expressed a wish to travel to Somalia and join a designated foreign terrorist organization to fight on its behalf. He also told the source he wanted to carry out a mass-casualty attack in Minnesota using a firearm, and stated multiple times that if he lacked the money to travel overseas, he intended to carry out that attack domestically in support of ISIS, according to the complaint.
By July 2026, the complaint alleges, Mohamud’s messages turned specifically to a shooting attack at the Mall of America. Prosecutors say he claimed the mall was owned by Jews and wrote that he wanted to kill 30 to 60 people “so no one would go there.” In September 2026, according to the complaint, Mohamud said he wanted to kill people he called “kuffar,” a term referring to non-Muslims.
Mohamud allegedly settled on Oct. 24 as his attack date. When the confidential source asked whether a large gathering was planned for that day, Mohamud allegedly said numerous Asian and other non-Muslim visitors would be at the mall and sent a link to a Hmong Arts Celebration scheduled there, according to the complaint.
CNN reported that Mohamud knowingly received a Norinco AK-47 assault rifle and roughly 200 live rounds of ammunition as part of the alleged plot, and that FBI investigators determined he intended to attack the mall in Bloomington.
Case Background
CNN reported that federal agents tried to speak with Mohamud’s parents about his radicalization in 2025 but were rebuffed. The complaint does not describe how Mohamud is alleged to have obtained the rifle and ammunition, and prosecutors have not released details about how the confidential source first made contact with him.
What Officials Have Said
FBI Director Kash Patel said in a statement released by the Justice Department that Mohamud “allegedly obtained a weapon he hoped to use in a mass casualty attack in support of ISIS, but this FBI arrested him and put a stop to his plans.” Patel added that the bureau has now stopped “over 1,100 individuals” from conducting attacks and recorded “over 4,000 foreign terrorist organization related disruptions and arrests, a 38% increase,” crediting the FBI’s Minneapolis field office for the investigation.
Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg said Mohamud “allegedly sought to carry out a mass-casualty shooting at the Mall of America, expressing a desire to emulate some of the most horrific ISIS-inspired attacks in the United States, including the atrocities at Pulse Nightclub and 2025 New Year’s Day attack in New Orleans.” Eisenberg said the National Security Division would continue working with the FBI and the Joint Terrorism Task Force “to track down and prosecute ISIS-inspired terrorists in the United States.”
U.S. Attorney Daniel N. Rosen for the District of Minnesota said in the same release that “as alleged in the criminal complaint, Mohamud took substantial steps to plot to murder innocent people in the name of ISIS,” and commended the Joint Terrorism Task Force, the FBI and his office for their work. At a news conference covered by CNN, Rosen said, “Today’s charges demonstrate that the threat of terrorism in support of ISIS and other foreign terrorist organizations is active and continuing.”
Rosen also used the news conference to address parents directly, according to CNN. “I just want to say to parents all over Minnesota, for that matter all over America, 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 said.
What’s Next
Mohamud faces one count of knowingly receiving a firearm and ammunition to commit a federal crime of terrorism. No information has been released about a scheduled court date, grand jury action or a plea in the case. The complaint’s allegations are accusations only, and Mohamud is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.
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