Teen Charged in Alleged Mall of America Shooting Plot
He wanted the Saturday crowd. Strollers. A festival. Thirty to sixty people.
Summary
- Federal prosecutors say Sheikhdoon Abdullahi Mohamud, 18, of Richfield, Minnesota, a U.S. citizen, was arrested Oct. 6, 2026, after paying about $600 for an AK-47, four 30-round magazines, and about 200 rounds from an undercover FBI employee. The rifle had been made inert.
- The complaint alleges he planned a mass shooting at the Mall of America on Oct. 24 during a Hmong Arts Celebration, and wrote that he wanted to kill 30 to 60 people. He allegedly said the mall was owned by Jews. Those lines are allegations.
- He is charged with knowingly receiving a firearm and ammunition in order to commit a federal crime of terrorism. He appeared before a magistrate on Oct. 7. He has not been convicted.
- The FBI says the investigation ran from December 2024. Star Tribune and ABC reported the same complaint. That is one charging document, not five separate investigations.
Commentary
Oct. 24 is a festival day at the Mall of America. Prosecutors say an 18-year-old picked that crowd, talked about 30 to 60 people, and tied the plot to ISIS.
On Oct. 6 he paid about $600 for a rifle the FBI had already made unable to fire, and they arrested him in a parking lot. He is charged, not convicted. The families he picked are still walking into that mall.
Comments
Oct. 24 is a festival. I would have been in that atrium with a stroller.
He is charged, not convicted. The complaint still says 30 to 60 people.
The rifle was inert. He still paid $600 thinking it would work on a Saturday crowd.
He sent the festival link. That is the detail that sits in my stomach.
Two years of messages, then a parking lot. I will take that over a Saturday of funerals.
The complaint ties the plot to ISIS and a family mall. That is the story.
