2LT International News

DETROIT, Michigan: The FBI has arrested a 19-year-old man from Michigan, Ammar Abdulmajid-Mohamed Said, for allegedly planning a mass shooting at a U.S. military base near Detroit on behalf of the Islamic State (IS), federal prosecutors said.

Said, a former member of the Michigan Army National Guard, was arrested after flying a drone near the base as part of the attack plan, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Detroit.

He is accused of trying to help a terrorist group and of sharing information about making dangerous weapons. If found guilty, he could face up to 20 years in prison for each charge.

The government says Said had been planning the attack for months with two undercover agents who pretended to be IS members. His target was the Army’s Tank-Automotive & Armaments Command base in Warren, Michigan, about 20 miles from Detroit.

He allegedly flew a drone over the base for surveillance and gave the agents armor-piercing bullets and magazines, believing they would be used in the attack.

Said lived in Melvindale, a Detroit suburb, and joined the National Guard in 2022. He left in 2024, around the time he began telling the undercover agents that he was angry with the U.S. and supported ISIS.

Prosecutors said he claimed to be loyal to an IS leader and bragged about his military training, including using grenades and assembling rifles blindfolded.

Officials say the plot was stopped before it could be carried out. Said is due in court on Wednesday. It’s not clear if he has a lawyer yet.