Former Michigan National Guardsman accused of plotting attack on US Army base

15/5/2025 14:54

FBI agents have arrested a former member of the Michigan Army National Guard accused of planning to carry out a mass shooting this week on behalf of Islamic State at a U.S. military base near Detroit, federal prosecutors said on Wednesday.



Agents arrested Ammar Abdulmajid-Mohamed Said, 19, on Tuesday after he traveled to an area near the Army installation and launched a surveillance drone in support of the attack plan, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Detroit said in a statement.



Said is charged with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and distributing information related to a destructive device, according to the government's 42-page criminal complaint.



If convicted, Said could face up to 20 years in prison on each count, federal prosecutors said.



According to the complaint, Said spent months planning the attack with two undercover officers posing as IS operatives. The target of the alleged plot was the Army's Tank-Automotive & Armaments Command facility at the Detroit Arsenal in Warren, Michigan, about 20 miles north of Detroit.



In addition to flying his drone over the base to conduct "operational reconnaissance and surveillance," Said supplied armor-piercing ammunition and magazines that he believed would be used in the attack, the complaint said.