Sheikhdoon Abdullahi Mohamud wanted to kill between 30 and 60 people at the Mall of America with an AK-47 because, in his words, the mall is "owned by Jewish so if I kill even 30 people no one would go" there anymore. He picked October 24 — the date of a Hmong Arts Celebration — to maximize the body count.

He's 18. He was born in the United States. And the FBI had been watching him since he was 16.

U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen announced the charges on October 7, confirming federal agents arrested Mohamud just days earlier after he acquired the AK-47 and ammunition. The charge: one count of knowingly receiving a firearm and ammunition while knowing they would be used to commit a federal terrorism crime. Mohamud is being held at Sherburne County Jail.

"The FBI yesterday arrested, and today we have charged, an individual who was planning a mass casualty attack in support of ISIS at the Mall of America later this month," Rosen said. Authorities 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 investigation began in December 2024, when Mohamud was still a minor. FBI agents attempted to interview him at his home in May 2025 — he was 17. His father declined to speak with them and told agents they'd need to contact an attorney. Rosen noted that authorities didn't believe Mohamud's parents fully understood the extent of his radicalization.

What followed was months of communication between Mohamud and an undercover informant across messaging apps and TikTok. The messages left nothing to interpretation. He referenced the Bondi Beach attack in Australia, writing, "I want to harm the jew just like brothers in Australia Bondi Beach harmed the Jews." He described his plan in operational terms: "I'll just go grab assault rifle, bomb too complicated, kill maybe" 30 to 60 people. He claimed to have 260 rounds of ammunition available.

FBI Minneapolis Special-Agent-in-Charge Christopher Dotson didn't mince the assessment. "The messages this defendant allegedly sent to others were chilling," Dotson said. "They document the idealization of ideologically-motivated violence, a callous disregard for the 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."

This was not a confused teenager posting edgy content. This was an American-born 18-year-old who spent months coordinating with what he believed were fellow ISIS sympathizers, selected a specific target for its Jewish ownership, chose a date designed to hit the largest possible crowd, and went out and bought the rifle.

The part that should stay with every parent in America: the radicalization happened on TikTok and encrypted messaging apps. The same platforms millions of kids scroll through every day. The FBI picked up on Mohamud when he was 16. His own parents, according to federal authorities, didn't grasp what was happening under their roof.

Dotson put the outcome plainly: "Instead of finding the means to kill countless innocent Americans, this defendant found a team of FBI agents there to arrest him and ensure he is held accountable in federal court."

Mohamud's parents came from Somalia. He was born here. He was radicalized here. He planned to kill here. The Mall of America — one of the most visited landmarks in the country, in the middle of Minnesota — was seventeen days from becoming a massacre site.

He had the rifle. He had the ammunition. He had the date circled on the calendar.