Minnesota: FBI foils suspected terrorist attack on shopping center

At his first hearing in federal court in St. Paul on Wednesday, the young man appeared wearing yellow prison uniform. In text messages with the informant, he repeatedly reiterated his intention to carry out an attack on the Mall of America on October 24 and kill non-Muslims, according to the criminal complaint. An event on Hmong culture was planned there for that day.

Suspect probably wanted to join IS

According to Rosen, the 18-year-old is a US citizen and was born in the United States. His family comes from Somalia. According to the criminal complaint, he expressed admiration for recent terrorist attacks in his messages and expressed interest in traveling to Somalia to join ISIS. Ultimately, he decided that he couldn't afford a trip there - and instead planned an attack on the Mall of America.

The teenager was first targeted by the FBI in December 2024. That same month, the informant began exchanging messages with him, the criminal complaint says. In May 2025, the investigators were so alarmed that they went to his home. His mother told officials that her son had not yet returned from school. She then called the boy's father. He refused to talk to the investigators.