A Michigan man's attempt to carry out a mass shooting on a U.S. Military Base for ISIS and al-Sham was thwarted, according to federal prosecutors.
Ammar Abdulmajid-Mohamed Said, 19, is charged in a criminal complaint with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and distributing information related to a destructive device. Said, a former member of the Michigan Army National Guard, faces a maximum of 20 years in prison for each count if convicted.
"This defendant is charged with planning a deadly attack on a U.S. military base here at home for ISIS," said Sue J. Bai, head of the Justice Department's National Security Division. "Thanks to the tireless efforts of law enforcement, we foiled the attack before lives were lost. We will not hesitate to bring the full force of the Department to find and prosecute those who seek to harm our men and women in the military and to protect all Americans."
According to the complaint, Said told two undercover law enforcement officers that he planned to conduct a mass-shooting at the U.S. Army's Tank-Automotive & Armaments Command (TACOM) facility at the Detroit Arsenal in Warren, Michigan.
After the two undercover officers indicated they were willing to follow through on Said's plan, he began assisting them and making preparations for the attack, according to prosecutors.
This included providing armor-piercing ammunition and magazines, flying his drone over TACOM to conduct operational reconnaissance, training the undercover individuals on firearms and the construction of Molotov cocktails, and planning other details, including how to enter TACOM and which building to target.
The attack was scheduled for May 13. Authorities arrested Said as he traveled to an area near TACOM and launched his drone in support of the plan.
"The defendant allegedly tried to carry out an attack on a military facility in support of ISIS, which was disrupted thanks to the good work of the FBI and our partners," said Assistant Director Donald M. Holstead of the FBI's Counterterrorism Division. "The FBI is steadfast in our commitment to detect and stop terrorist plans aimed at the American homeland or at U.S. interests overseas."
