FBI says it stopped the Mall of America terror attack after selling rifle to teenage suspect

The FBI said Wednesday that it thwarted a planned terror attack on the Mall of America this week by selling a rifle to the teenaged suspect and arresting him on the spot. 

The 18-year-old was on the bureau's radar for almost two years after he began messaging a confidential informant. He allegedly told the informant that he was planning an attack on the mall and that he wanted to join the Somalia-based terror group Al-Shabaab.

The suspect has been identified as Sheikhdoon Abdullahi Mohamud, a U.S. citizen and resident of Minnesota's Twin Cities.

A criminal complaint said that as the suspect's plan to attack the mall became more real and solidified, agents sold him the gun and ammunition on Tuesday and arrested him on the spot, according to the Associated Press.

“This was a radicalized young man who needed to be watched,” U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen said. “[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.” 

The FBI said Mohamud repeatedly affirmed in chat messages to the informant that he intended to attack and kill non-Muslims at the mall on Oct. 24, which is the date of a scheduled arts celebration by Minnesota's Hmong community.

The bureau said Mohamud’s alleged messages expressed admiration for recent terror attacks and the FBI grew so concerned about Mohamud in May 2025 that agents went to his house, but his mother said he was not home. His father declined to speak to the FBI.

“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 said.

Minneapolis is home to a large Somali-expat community that has come under fire in recent years over allegations of widespread public funds fraud and alleged financial support for Al-Shabaab.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.