FBI foils alleged terrorist attack at Minneapolis’s Mall of America

( NewsNation ) — An Islamic terrorist attack on the Mall of America in Minneapolis has been thwarted by the FBI.

Agents supplied Sheikhdoon Abdullahi Mohamud, 18, with a rifle and ammunition amid an undercover investigation spanning almost two years.

According to a federal complaint described by U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen, Mohamud traded messages with a confidential informant and paid $600 to an undercover FBI employee posing as a member of ISIS for an AK-47 and 200 rounds of ammunition.

He was arrested Tuesday in a public park following the purchase.

In text messages with a confidential FBI source, Mohamud repeatedly affirmed his intent to carry out an attack to kill non-Muslims, the complaint said. It was not immediately known if the teen had an attorney who might speak on his behalf.

Attorney General Todd Blanche in a post online thanked the local and federal officials involved in the operation for their “diligent work” in thwarting the attack.

“Mohamud allegedly sent messages pledging his support to ISIS and propaganda videos to a confidential source,” he wrote on social platform X, including a screenshot from one of the videos included in the complaint.

He added later, “These threats are taken extremely seriously and we’re grateful this attack was stopped in its tracks by federal law enforcement who work every day to keep our country safe.”

FBI Director Kash Patel also celebrated the foil.

“This FBI is finding terrorists BEFORE they can attack Americans — and we will keep using every resource we have to dismantle their networks across this country,” he wrote on X . “Outstanding work by @FBIMinneapolis . They likely saved lives.”

The Associated Press contributed reporting.