Man Planned ISIS-Inspired Mass Shooting At Michigan Military Base: Feds

WARREN, MI — A man was arrested Tuesday after planning to attack a military base in Warren on behalf of the Islamic State, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Ammar Abdulmajid-Mohamed Said, 19, of Melvindale, was charged with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and distributing information related to a destructive device.

If convicted, Said faces up to 20 years in prison for each count.

Officials plan to ask a judge to keep Said in pretrial detention because of his danger to the community and the risk that he will flee.

Said planned to carry out a mass shooting at the U.S. Army’s Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command (“TACOM”) facility at the Detroit Arsenal in Warren, officials said.

Last month, officials said Said recruited two undercover FBI officers, posing as ISIS supporters. The undercover agents told Said they intended to carry out his plan at the direction of ISIS, officials said.

Officials said Said flew a drone over the facility to gather reconnaissance and trained the undercover officers. He showed them how to use guns and Molotov cocktails and provided them with armor-piercing ammunition and magazines for the attack, officials said.

During one of their meetings, officials said Said showed the undercover officers how to enter the facility and which building to target. He also showed them a training video on how to draw the weapons against potential threats and told them, "for us, whether they're armed or not, it's shoot-to-kill," officials said.

Said was arrested Tuesday, which officials said was the scheduled day of the attack. He was arrested near the facility after he launched his drone in support of the attack plan, officials said.

Officials said the investigation started in June 2024 when Said started communicating with an undercover FBI agent posing as an ISIS supporter.

"ISIS is a brutal terrorist organization which seeks to kill Americans. Helping ISIS or any other terrorist organization prepare or carry out acts of violence is not only a reprehensible crime – it is a threat to our entire nation and way of life. Our office will not tolerate such crimes or threats, and we will use the full weight of the law against anyone who engages in terrorism," U.S. Attorney Gorgon said.