A teenager accused of plotting a mass shooting at the Mall of America allegedly told the FBI he wanted to die, repeatedly pledged allegiance to ISIS and bit one of the agents who arrested him in a sting operation.

Sheikhdoon Mohamud appeared again in federal court Monday, where Magistrate Judge Dulce Foster ordered he remain jailed as the case moves forward.

Federal prosecutors charged Mohamud on Oct. 7 with buying a gun to use in an act of terrorism in support of the Islamic State. Mohamud, 18, allegedly told an FBI informant in a series of text messages exchanged over nearly two years that he wanted to go to Somalia to fight but opted to attack a target in the United States since he could not afford to travel.

According to the criminal complaint, Mohamud arranged with the informant to buy an AK-47 rifle, four magazines and 200 rounds of ammunition from another man who turned out to be an undercover FBI agent. When Mohamud went to a Richfield park on Oct. 6 and handed over $600, a SWAT team swept in and arrested him.

The complaint does not say how Mohamud drew the attention of the FBI, but at the Monday court hearing, Special Agent Keegan Rupenthal testified that the bureau received information in 2024 that Mohamud was posting pro-ISIS videos on TikTok.

That December, the FBI paid an informant with whom it had worked since 2017 to exchange messages with Mohamud, who was 16 at the time. The two texted back and forth for nearly two years. The FBI said Mohamud set Oct. 24 for his attack, the day of a Hmong arts celebration at the mall.

In response to questions from assistant U.S. attorney Benjamin Bejar, Rupenthal said before the meetup, Mohamud asked the informant if he needed to bring a bag for the gun and wondered how he’d carry the weapon home on his bicycle.

Rupenthal said the informant gave the teen multiple opportunities to back out, but Mohamud “again reiterated that he was 100 percent committed and he would have backed out now if he wasn’t sure.”

Rupenthal said agents observed Mohamed as he left his home and traveled to the park. The teen then got into a vehicle with the undercover agent, who again asked why he wanted to attack the Mall of America.

Mohamed allegedly replied that he wanted to hurt its Jewish owners and retaliate for a May shooting at a San Diego Islamic center that left three people dead. The shooters — ages 17 and 18 — died by suicide.

Rupenthal added that when the SWAT team emerged to arrest Mohamud, he tried to reach into the duffel bag to grab the gun and also bit one of the agents who’d handcuffed him.

After being informed of his right to remain silent and to consult with an attorney, Mohamud allegedly pledged allegiance to the leader of ISIS and described himself to the agents as being “like a terrorist.” He also praised the army psychiatrist who killed 13 people at Fort Hood in 2009 and the shooter who killed 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando in 2016.

Defense attorney Manny Atwal argued Mohamud should be released to home confinement with a GPS ankle bracelet. She noted Mohamed may have made dangerous statements, but “the FBI surveilled him for 22 months and didn’t find him so dangerous until he purchased the firearm.”

Atwal also said while her client had expressed interest in ISIS at a young age, he didn’t become serious about it until “a paid FBI informant, an adult, came into his life.”

Foster said Mohamud wasn’t just a teenager talking about a mass shooting, saying he took “very real and concrete steps” by purchasing a weapon and ammunition and setting a date for the attack.

Collected from Minnesota Public Radio News. View original source here.