FBI DISRUPTS PLANNED ATTACK ON MALL OF AMERICA, OFFICIALS SAY

The FBI says it prevented a planned attack on the Mall of America after undercover agents supplied a teenager with an assault rifle as part of a sting operation. US Attorney Daniel Rosen said the agency had been monitoring the teenager, named in court documents as Sheikhdoon Abdullahi Mohamud, for close to two years before his arrest. According to a criminal complaint, Mohamud was detained on Tuesday in a public park in Richfield, Minnesota, several miles from the shopping centre. The complaint states he paid $600 to an undercover FBI employee posing as a member of ISIS in exchange for an AK-47 rifle and 200 rounds of ammunition. Rosen described him as "a radicalised young man who needed to be watched."

Court filings allege Mohamud exchanged messages with a confidential FBI source over an extended period, repeatedly affirming his intent to carry out an attack targeting non-Muslims. Investigators say the weapon and ammunition were sold to him directly by agents as part of the operation, allowing the FBI to monitor and ultimately intercept him before any attack could take place. It was not immediately clear whether Mohamud has retained a lawyer to respond to the allegations on his behalf.

Rosen said the complaint alleges Mohamud intended to kill "maybe 30 to 60 people," though he said further detail on the scale of the planned attack was set out in the charging document. The Mall of America, located near Minneapolis, is described as the largest shopping centre in the United States. Authorities have not indicated when Mohamud is next due to appear in court. The case remains before US federal prosecutors, who have not announced further charges beyond those contained in the complaint.