This was quite the fortunate turn of events in 24-year-old Mohamed Adan Mohamed's suspected plan to carry out a mass shooting (I'll let you figure out why a guy named Mohamed Adan Mohamed would want to shoot people).
Yup, this guy shoplifted eight magazines from a gun shop in Mankato, Minnesota, and was fortunately caught by police after escaping the shop's staff.
Here's the scoop from CBS News:
Employees told police that a man wearing a medical mask, gloves, a heavy winter jacket and a green stocking cap — later identified as Mohamed — entered the store and began selecting several 9mm firearm magazines, bear spray and body armor. Employees say they became suspicious when he began grabbing high-priced merchandise without looking at the price, the complaint said.
That's when Mohamed fled the store, escaping a staff member who tried to citizen's arrest him, and drove away, almost running someone over in the process.
Left behind at the store, employees found a list Mohamed was referencing while shoplifting, entitled "Survival Gear List with Alternative." On the list were "knives, bows and arrows, a sleeping bag, lighters, pepper spray, a ‘6-mag chest right' and eight magazines."
But the story gets even crazier.
An investigating officer, noting the listed items, recalled that he had been on a call for service within the week prior due to Mohamed ‘making several media posts showing firearms and ammunition and one post showing himself pointing an apparent assault rifle at the camera,' the complaint said. The hashtag for the social media post was ‘#deathtoamerikkan&israelliImperialism.'
"Death to Amerikka"
"Israeli Imperialism"
Police say they believe Mohamed was planning a mass casualty event within the next 24 hours.
And get this, this guy was already on law enforcement's radar (because of course) due to some of Mohamed's social media posts.
Just north of Mankato, St. Peter Police Chief Matt Grochow had met with Mohamed but didn't think he was threatening, so he didn't make an arrest.
But after the shoplifting incident:
St. Peter police then executed a search warrant at the home and found a firearm that he had pointed at the camera in an online post. He was arrested without incident and booked into Blue Earth County Jail, police said.
Following his arrest, an extreme risk protection order was granted against him, allowing police to seize his guns, which included an AR-style rifle and two 3D-printed handguns.
A court has ruled that Mohamed cannot possess firearms for a year, and he has a court date for next month. His bail was set at $500,000.
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