Massachusetts Man Charged With Terrorism, Plotting to Attack Shopping Malls

Boston, MA (AHN) – A 27-year-old man from Massachusetts has been charged with plotting terror attacks in shopping malls and against Americans serving in Iraq.

Tarek Mehanna of Sudbury was charged in federal court on Wednesday with conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists. He allegedly worked from 2001 through 2008 with Ahmad Abousamra and others on plans to”participate in violent jihad.”

He traveled to the Middle East in 2004 for training at a terrorist camp that would equip him to attack Americans in Iraq. He also watched and distributed jihadi videos, and had abandoned a plan to randomly shoot people in a shopping mall.

Prosecutors say Mehanna and his co-conspirators repeatedly discussed how to obtain automatic weapons so they can randomly shoot people in a mall, as well as how to attack first responders. They dropped the plan because they were unable to get weapons they thought would effectively carry out the attack.

A Boston Herald profile of Mehanna reveals him as a polite man who received a doctorate in pharmacy from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy in Boston last year.

Mehanna, who was arrested in January for lying to federal terror investigators, faces a maximum of 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if he is convicted.

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