Man eyed Minnesota

A man accused of telling an FBI informant he wanted to attack the Mall of America during the Hmong Arts Celebration on Oct. 24 was arrested at gunpoint Tuesday during an arranged meeting to buy an AK-47-style rifle for $600, according to a federal criminal complaint filed Wednesday in St. Paul.

The complaint says the FBI contacted Mohamud's parents in May 2025. His father allegedly said "he did not want to share any information pertaining to himself or his son" with agents and directed them to his attorney.

Mohamud allegedly went on to say in a direct message to the source that he considered carrying out an attack at the Mall of America in Bloomington or Valleyfair amusement park in Shakopee around Christmas. An FBI affidavit says he wrote that he might buy two pistols online first.

What: DOJ, FBI to discuss "significant counterterrorism law enforcement action."

Last month, Mohamud told the source he wanted to carry out an attack at the mall during the Hmong Arts Celebration on Oct. 24, saying "it will be a lot of people," according to court documents.

In another message last month, the affidavit says, he wrote that he had been watching video of the 2016 attack at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, and thought he could do the same. "I just walk in and shoot," he wrote.

On Tuesday, Mohamud was arrested at gunpoint during an arranged meeting with the source to purchase an AK-47-style assault rifle for $600. The affidavit says he had left an undercover employee's vehicle with the rifle, four magazines and 200 rounds of ammunition when he was arrested. The filing describes the weapon as a Norinco AK-47 assault rifle, model Mac-90 Sporter, and the ammunition as about 200 live rounds of 7.62x39-caliber.

Minnesota U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen and FBI Special Agent in Charge Christopher Dotson are scheduled to hold a news conference at noon Wednesday on "a significant counterterrorism law enforcement action." It's not clear whether it concerns Mohamud's case.