A former member of the Michigan Army National Guard was apprehended for allegedly planning a mass shooting at a military base in support of the Islamic State terrorist organization, the Justice Department revealed on Wednesday.
Nineteen-year-old Ammar Abdulmajid-Mohamed Said was detained on Tuesday after he went to a location near the U.S. Army’s Tank-Automotive & Armaments Command (TACOM) facility at Detroit Arsenal in Warren, Michigan, and “deployed his drone to assist with the attack plan,” as stated by officials.
“I suggest everyone have about seven magazines because you don’t want to be caught without ammo,” Said reportedly informed an undercover FBI agent during the preparations for the thwarted scheme, according to a criminal complaint.
Said is now facing charges of attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and distributing information related to a destructive device. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years per count if convicted.
Ammar Abdulmajid-Mohamed Said is seen posing in front of an ISIS flag, according to the Justice Department. (Justice Department)
The criminal complaint stated that around June 2024, Said started communicating with an undercover FBI agent whom he had thought was a fellow ISIS supporter.
“During the course of their interactions, which were audio- and/or video-recorded, Said described his longstanding desire to engage in violent jihad, either by traveling to ISIS-held territory abroad or by carrying out an attack in the United States,” the complaint said.
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“On July 18, 2024, FBI agents executed a search warrant for Said’s iPhone by performing a covert search of that device… when SAID provided it to personnel with the Michigan Army National Guard prior to boarding a military aircraft. During that search, FBI agents identified a Facebook message exchange (in Arabic) that took place on or about October 5, 2023, between Said and another Facebook user located in the Palestinian territories,” the complaint continued.
Said is pictured showing an undercover FBI agent the planned site of the attack, according to the Justice Department. (Justice Department)
“In that Facebook message exchange, Said stated, ‘I want to go for Jihad,’ and the other Facebook user replied, ‘Talk to me on Telegram.’ Agents also determined during the search that Said was a member of multiple channels in the encrypted messaging application Telegram, one of which contained videos and images with ISIS flags,” it also said.
The complaint noted that Said enlisted in the Michigan Army National Guard in September 2022 and attended basic training at Fort Moore in Georgia. He later reported to the Michigan Army National Guard Taylor Armory before being discharged around December 2024.
The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force is leading the investigation into the case.
