The two Michigan men charged with supplying weapons for an ISIS-inspired terror attack had been scouting LGBTQ-friendly bars in a Detroit suburb and talked of copying the 2015 Paris onslaught that killed 130 people, according to a 72-page criminal complaint unsealed in federal court Monday.
The document names Mohmed Ali and Majed Mahmoud, both 20 years old and from Dearborn, as conspiring to unleash a mass shooting on Halloween night — a fiendish plot the suspects codenamed “pumpkin,” according to prosecutors.
The complaint also refers to five unidentified co-conspirators and a minor, labeled “Person 1,” the latter of whom was allegedly assigned to carry out the attack along with Ali, while the rest of the group made their way to join ISIS in Syria.
Mohmed Ali at a Michigan gun range. Eastern District of Michigan
Images show the suspects in the gun range. Eastern District of Michigan
Video stills show the suspects. Eastern District of Michigan
Investigators surveilled the men for weeks — even mounting a camera on a pole outside a Dearborn house — and tracked their phone movements, eventually following them to Ferndale, north of the Motor City and known for its bars and restaurants, many of which “intentionally attract members of the LGBTQ+ community,” the complaint reads.
But before Ali and Mahmoud could execute their alleged terror scheme, authorities raided the men’s homes and a nearby storage unit rented by Ali in nearby Inkster.
In all, investigators recovered three AR-15-style rifles, two shotguns, four pistols and more than 1,600 rounds of ammunition — as well as GoPro cameras, tactical vests and additional gear.
The duo made brief appearances in federal court Monday, and are each charged with a single count of transferring weapons and ammo for terrorism. They face up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
Both Ali and Mahmoud were ordered held pending a Nov. 10 detention hearing.
“The FBI stopped a massacre before it could happen,” FBI Director Kash Patel wrote on X after the criminal complaint was unsealed Monday.
“Two Michigan men planned an ISIS-inspired Halloween terror attack near Detroit — stockpiling weapons, scouting targets, and training at gun ranges. This FBI acted fast, followed the evidence, and likely saved countless lives.”
Throughout September and October, Ali, Mahmoud, the juvenile and two unnamed co-conspirators were captured on camera practicing shooting firearms at a gun range, according to the complaint.
Though both defendants were under the age of 21, they were able to legally purchase pricey firearms — including a 12-gauge Beretta A300 Ultima Competition shotgun, a Daniel Defense M4 V7 rifle, a Sig Sauer 9mm pistol and multiple 5.56 rifles, according to the complaint.
Mahmoud recently bought more than 1,600 rounds of ammunition that could be used for AR-15-style rifles, the government alleged.
Members of the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force search a home in Dearborn, Michigan, on October 31, 2025. AFP via Getty Images
Investigators also found a trove of incriminating information upon searching one of the co-conspirator’s phones, including Google searches of “ISIS” and the “Islamic State.”
During a group call recorded by an FBI source, a participant identified as “co-conspirator 2” said he had tried to convince “Athari” and “Bukhari” to travel with them, but that they said they were going to stay in the US and do the “same thing as France,” an apparent reference to the Nov. 13, 2015, ISIS attacks on landmarks across Paris — including the Stade de France and Bataclan performance venue.
The complaint said the investigation determined the identity of the person referred to as “Bukhari” is Ali, while “Athari” was a code name for the juvenile.
Ali and “Person 1” also sought guidance from the father of a “local Islamic extremist ideologue” about when to carry out the attack.
Though the criminal complaint does not identify the contact by name, it says he’s “publicly known for his radical Islamic views and his vocal support of Islamic extremist ideology consistent with that of ISIS.”
The juvenile evidently admired the father of the ideologue, at times posting content from him on his Instagram account alongside other “individuals who promote, or otherwise support, ISIS, terrorist suicide attacks, terrorists and martyrdom,” according to the feds.
Two days before Halloween, “Person 1” called the ideologue’s father and said he was indecisive about what day the attack — which he chillingly referred to as a “good deed” — should take place.
The older man allegedly responded that it shouldn’t wait, and that the conspirators should do the “good deed now.”
Ferndale hosts Michigan’s largest Pride Month festivities every year, and former Mayor Dave Coulter described the purported plot as “disturbing.”
“The pain of the Pulse Nightclub tragedy in Orlando, Florida, nine years ago while I was serving as mayor of Ferndale is still deeply felt in the community,” said Coulter, who is openly gay and has served as Oakland County Executive in 2019.