FBI tracked suspect for nearly two years before arrest, complaint shows

The FBI arrested an 18-year-old on Tuesday in connection with a planned shooting attack at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, authorities announced Wednesday. The arrest ended a nearly two-year investigation into the suspect, Sheikhdoon Abdullahi Mohamud, during which he paid an undercover FBI employee for an AK-47 rifle and 200 rounds of ammunition, according to a criminal complaint filed in the case.

Mohamud was charged with one count of obtaining a firearm to carry out an act of terrorism. He was taken into custody Tuesday in a public park after paying $600 to an undercover FBI employee whom he believed to be a member of the Islamic State, the complaint said. The action was announced Wednesday by federal authorities in Minnesota.

According to the criminal complaint, Mohamud communicated with a confidential informant over a period spanning roughly two years. Messages between the two, some dating back to December 2024, revealed that Mohamud initially intended to join a terrorist organization overseas. When those plans did not materialize, the complaint alleged, Mohamud turned his attention to a planned attack in Minnesota.

In one exchange, he wrote: “That’s why I wanna save up to go to another country or…get a gun here and just start killing a bunch of white ppl.” In another, he said: “I wanna get martyred inshallah.” The complaint’s account of those messages indicated the attack was intended to target civilians at the Mall of America.

Minnesota police said Mohamud had been recorded on the mall’s security cameras walking through the property “nonchalantly” in the period leading up to his arrest. Police also said Mohamud robbed a Lids store at gunpoint before being apprehended.

US Attorney Daniel Rosen said Mohamud “needed to be watched.” “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, as we allege in far greater detail in the complaint,” Rosen said Wednesday.

It remained unclear Wednesday what initially promoted the FBI’s investigation.

Wednesday’s announcement comes after two recent shootings by Somali teens as victims and suspects, including a gang-related shooting in Bloomington in which more than 100 rounds of ammunition were fired. As terrorism and violence are an increasing concern in Minnesota, some in law enforcement have called for a regional task force to address more harm in the state.

The Associated Press contributed reporting.