Prosecutors allege Mohamud admired Bondi Beach, Bourbon Street attacks
Minnesota U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen said Wednesday that federal agents tried in 2025 to speak with the parents of an 18-year-old man now charged with planning a mass shooting at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, about their son’s alleged radicalization — but the family, who are from Somalia, rebuffed the outreach.
At a news conference announcing the charge against Sheikhdoon Abdullahi Mohamud, Rosen urged parents across the country to heed federal warnings.
“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.
The U.S. Attorney’s office in Minneapolis charged Mohamud on Wednesday with one count of knowingly receiving a firearm and ammunition while knowing or having reason to believe they would be used in a felony or a federal crime of terrorism. Mohamud was arrested Tuesday after purchasing an AK-47 rifle, according to the office.
According to the charges, Mohamud communicated with an informant over the course of months and said he wanted to carry out an attack in support of ISIS. Prosecutors allege Mohamud also said he admired other mass-casualty attacks, specifically the December 2025 shooting at Bondi Beach in Australia and the January 2025 attack on Bourbon Street in New Orleans.
Prosecutors say Mohamud also said he wanted to travel to Somalia to join a terrorist organization.
The federal investigation into Mohamud began in October 2024, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.
FBI officials called Mohamud’s messages “chilling.”
“They document the idealization of ideologically motivated violence, a callous disregard for sanctity of human life, a blind hatred of people of other faiths and a cold commitment to carrying out his vision of violence in our community,” said FBI Minneapolis Special-Agent-in-Charge Christopher Dotson.