Judge orders teen accused in Mall of America attack plot to remain jailed
A federal judge cited community and flight risks in keeping Sheikhdoon Abdullahi Mohamud in custody. His lawyer sought monitored release and challenged the role of an FBI informant.
Sheikhdoon Abdullahi Mohamud, 18, will remain jailed after a federal judge in Minnesota ruled on October 19 that he posed a risk to the community and a flight risk, according to the Associated Press. Prosecutors accuse him of planning an attack at the Mall of America in Bloomington.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Dulce Foster made the detention decision after hearing competing accounts of the alleged plot and the FBI operation that led to Mohamud’s arrest. The ruling keeps him in custody while the criminal case proceeds; it is not a finding of guilt.
What prosecutors alleged at the detention hearing
Authorities said Mohamud was arrested on October 6 after paying an undercover FBI employee $600 for an AK-47 rifle, 200 rounds of ammunition and four 30-round magazines. The arrest took place at a public park in Richfield, the Minneapolis suburb where he lived, AP reported.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Bejar told the court that Mohamud was close to carrying out an attack and was committed to doing so on behalf of ISIS. FBI Special Agent Keegan Rupenthal testified that Mohamud wanted to harm as many people as possible and sought to become a martyr, according to AP.
Authorities said the alleged attack was planned for October 24, during a scheduled Hmong community arts celebration at the mall. The FBI’s Minneapolis press-release listing records an October 7 announcement of Mohamud’s arrest and charge in connection with an alleged mass-shooting plot there.
Defense challenges informant’s role and seeks release
Defense attorney Manny Atwal asked for Mohamud to be held in a halfway house with GPS monitoring and no internet access. She said he was 16 when a confidential informant first contacted him and that his only access to weapons came through the FBI, AP reported.
Rupenthal testified that the informant had repeatedly told Mohamud the proposed attack was serious and that he could back out. According to the agent, Mohamud said he was committed and was not being pressured. Those accounts leave the informant’s role contested; the detention hearing did not resolve whether the operation amounted to entrapment.
The FBI had been in contact with Mohamud through an informant since December 2024, AP reported. Rupenthal’s affidavit said Mohamud initially discussed traveling to Somalia to fight for al-Shabab militants, then turned to an attack in Minnesota after saying he could not afford the trip. Those statements are allegations in the criminal complaint, not established facts about his intent.
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Sources and context
- Minnesota teen accused of plotting terror attack at Mall of America to remain jailedPBS NewsHour / Associated Press
- Press Releases — FBI MinneapolisFederal Bureau of Investigation
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.