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A thwarted Halloween terror attack in suburban Detroit was partially inspired by the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida, according to court documents.
That attack began as an active shooting and evolved into a barricade situation with hostages. It left 49 dead and 53 wounded, in what authorities at the time called the worst terror attack on U.S. soil since 9/11.
According to the FBI, two 20-year-old men from Dearborn, Michigan, and a juvenile accomplice were allegedly plotting to similarly shoot up one or more clubs in Ferndale, a nearby community known for its LGBT nightlife.
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Mohmed Ali, Majed Mahmoud and a juvenile identified under the alias “Athari” scouted Ferndale in September as part of a plot to shoot up Americans they dubbed “pumpkin,” according to court documents.
The scouting trips were particularly suspicious to investigators because none of the suspects are over 21 years old, ruling out legitimate visits to bars or clubs.
There were about 300 people in the Pulse nightclub when Omar Mateen barged in and opened fire around 2 a.m. on June 12, 2016. Many of them, but not all, were part of the local LGBT community, according to authorities.
During an hours-long standoff, Mateen dialed 911 and a local news station, swearing allegiance to ISIS in both calls.
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SWAT team officers killed him at around 5:15 a.m., breaching a wall and exchanging gunfire after hostage negotiations failed.
As the FBI was surveilling the suspects in the Michigan plot, agents intercepted messages claiming that Ali and Athari would “do the same thing as France” and that their alleged attack was “probably going to be at like a club, a disco.”
Ali and Mahmoud are being held without bail until at least next Monday, when they are due in federal court in Detroit for detention hearings.
The FBI executed search warrants Friday on the two men’s homes and a storage unit they shared, seizing multiple semiautomatic rifles, a shotgun, handguns, tactical gear and more than 1,600 rounds of 5.56 ammunition.
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Agents also recovered surveillance video showing Ali and other alleged conspirators at a Michigan gun range, where they are accused of practicing shooting in preparation for the foiled attack.
According to an FBI affidavit, the conspirators drew inspiration from the Pulse shooting and the 2015 coordinated terror attacks in Paris, France, which killed 137 and injured more than 400.
In Michigan, the suspects also sought advice from the father of a local “Islamic extremist ideologue,” according to the FBI affidavit, allegedly seeking religious approval for the plot.
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They also allegedly discussed choosing a date that would be celebrated by subsequent radical Islamic terrorists.
Lawyers for Ali and Mahmoud declined to comment.
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