A terrorism investigation has yielded an indictment against a Somali man from the Twin Cities accused of planning a mass casualty event at the Mall of America later this month, the Minnesota U.S. Attorney’s Office announced on Wednesday.

Federal authorities on Tuesday arrested Sheikhdoon Abdullahi Mohamud, 18, on one count of obtaining a firearm to carry out an act of terrorism. The indictment stems from a nearly two-year investigation that revealed Mohamud expressed intent to join and fight for terrorist organizations overseas but eventually turned to planning a terrorist-inspired attack in Minnesota when those plans failed.

“Mohamud allegedly sought martyrdom in carrying out his plans to murder innocent civilians,” FBI Minneapolis Field Office Special Agent in Charge Christopher D. Dotson said at a news conference Wednesday.

The indictment largely focuses on Mohamud’s conversations with a person identified as a confidential source through various online platforms stretching back to December 2024. Mohamud frequently expressed his desire to travel and fight on behalf of the terrorist group on the platform, according to the charges.

“I wanna get martyred inshallah,” one of his messages said to a confidential informant.

“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."

The terrorism charges come amid renewed concerns over gang violence in the Twin Cities between rival factions in the Somali community. Two recent shootings involving Somali teens as victims or suspects have left some in law enforcement calling for a regional task force to address gang activity while cautioning that the violence is stemming from a small number of people in the community.

One of the shootings at Eden Prairie High School’s homecoming football game forced the evacuation of athletes and fans. The other gang-related shooting in Bloomington resulted in more than 100 rounds fired along a residential street.

The indictment said Mohamud told the confidential source that he didn’t have enough money to travel to Somalia, and eventually started to discuss purchasing a firearm to carry out an attack at various locations in the Twin Cities, with a focus on the Mall of America “because it’s owned by jewish (sic) so if i kill even 30 people noone would go there anymore.”

Those plans turned into an agreement to purchase a firearm, the indictment said. By that point, Mohamud had pledged allegiance to ISIS through a selfie-style video, investigators said. Mohamud messaged the informant that he intended to carry out an attack on Oct. 24 during a festival at the Mall of America and sent a link to the Hmong Arts Celebration.

Mohamud was arrested on Tuesday by the FBI in a Richfield parking lot after purchasing an AK-47 rifle, four magazines and 200 rounds of ammunition for $600 from an undercover officer whom he thought was a member of ISIS.

U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen said the charges “demonstrate that the threat of terrorism in support to ISIS and other foreign terrorist organizations is active and continuing.”

The charges recall similar counterterrorism investigations from more than a decade ago when a wave of Somali-Americans from Minnesota faced charges for leaving the United States to fight alongside Islamic extremist groups. One major counterterrorism investigation in 2015 led to indictments against 11 Minnesotans charged in a conspiracy to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. Prior to those, the Justice Department brought similar terrorism charges following an investigation into the disappearance of up to 20 local men who left the Minneapolis area and traveled to Somalia to train or fight with terrorist group al-Shabaab.

The Justice Department is currently seeking to revoke the U.S. citizenship of one of the men who pleaded guilty to providing support to the terrorist organization al-Shabaab more than 20 years ago. The denaturalization case remains pending in federal court.

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