WARREN, Mich. – The FBI said they stopped a planned attack at a military base in Warren on Tuesday.
Ammar Abdulmajid-Mohamed Said was charged with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and distributing information related to a destructive device.
Related: Former Michigan National Guard member accused of planning mass shooting at Warren military base
According to court documents, Said told two undercover FBI agents about his plan to conduct a mass shooting at the U.S. Army’s Tank Automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM) at the Detroit Arsenal in Warren on behalf of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS).
If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison for each count. He is expected back in court on Wednesday, May 28, 2025, for a preliminary hearing.
Background on Said
Said, a 19-year-old from Melvindale, served in the Michigan Army National Guard in September 2022 and was discharged in December 2024.
According to the public affairs officer for the Michigan National Guard, Said was involuntarily discharged for failing to complete the initial entry requirements.
He allegedly told undercover FBI agents that he spent a year and a half in the U.S. military because he “did it for the training. I wanted to train so that I know what I’m doing, I know how they think, and how they act, you know. I wanted to get military training before I just go somewhere. I’m fully dedicated...”
‘I want to go for jihad’
In June 2024, court documents claimed Said told an undercover federal agent he was a fellow ISIS supporter.
During the multiple interactions that were audio or video recorded, Said allegedly described his desire to engage in jihad, either by traveling to ISIS-held territory overseas or by carrying out an attack in the United States.
On July 18, 2024, FBI agents executed a search warrant for Said’s phone by conducting a covert search of the device when Said provided it to personnel with the Michigan Army National Guard before boarding a military aircraft.
During the search, FBI agents found Facebook messages in Arabic between Said and another user. Said reportedly told the user, “I want to go for Jihad,” and they replied, “Talk to me on Telegram.”
Agents then found that Said was a member of multiple channels in Telegram containing videos and images with ISIS flags.
In August 2024, the undercover agent introduced someone to Said, claiming to be an associate of theirs, who was actually what the affidavit referred to as an FBI Confidential Human Source.
The undercover agent told Said that this person had connections to ISIS and could help him travel to an ISIS-held territory abroad. During an in-person recorded meeting on Aug. 1, 2024, Said told the undercover FBI agent that he was “fed up with this country and forbidden stuff everywhere” and “so, by God, I want to go for jihad. Go to fight among the Muslims and raise the word of God and that’s it. My last intention is martyrdom for the sake of God.”
When FBI Confidential Human Source told Said that if he traveled overseas for jihad, he could die. He reportedly responded, “Exactly, even if I martyr, this is the goal; martyrdom is the goal, it’s either victory or martyrdom.”
Said then described the training he received from the Michigan National Guard, saying he has the ability to disassemble and reassemble an AR-15/M4 style rifle with his eyes closed.
During a recorded meeting with the undercover agent on Aug. 27, 2024, Said reportedly played a video on his phone that showed him performing a “bayah” pledge of loyalty to the caliph of ISIS.
Planned attack at TACOM
Said sent the undercover agent a text on Oct. 26, 2024, saying, “I was thinking if we made a new startgey (sic) … I was thinking of attacking the base this time. I thought about it a while ago, but I wasn’t sure. But last night I really thought about it so j (sic) wanted to talk to you first.”
On Nov. 8, 2024, Said met with the undercover agent and described his plan for attacking TACOM. He allegedly said that he and the agent could attempt to enter the gate leading to the TACOM facility with his military ID, or he talked about attacking guards and military personnel on the base, “we could just take them out from the door or the gate, and make our way in.”
He also reportedly said, “Let’s say we can knock out the first two [soldiers] when we get in, that’s two less we have to worry about that are armed.”
During the next recorded meeting on Nov. 13, 2024, the undercover agent introduced another undercover FBI agent who posed as a person who planned to travel to Sudan. Said allegedly told the second undercover agent, “I was talking to [first undercover agent] a while ago and I’m at the same stage you are right now, too.”
He then reportedly indicated he was interested in traveling to Egypt to fight, but then said, “I don’t know if I should go there? Of course, I’m going to be fighting, but how many soldiers will I kill? ‘Cause they’re doing some real damage, you know the military bases here.”
When discussing his alleged plan to attack TACOM, he said, “Of course it’s going to be a hell of a fight, a process. I took it to a point I went to the base itself, the first time I actually got my [military identification] card there, and then the second, third time, just looking around, seeing if I ever were to do it, what would I do, how would I do it.”
He continued, “I was going to do this a long time ago, by myself right…I went to the thrift store…I bought seven magazines fully loaded, 300 rounds. I bought those, and I was gonna get an AR rifle.”
He reportedly further explained that he tried to purchase a rifle at the time but wasn’t able to because he was 17 at the time.
After talking about security arrangements at TACOM, Said also allegedly told the FBI agents that “it’s a military base, I just want you to know this, this is, there’s no coming out. It’s a one-way entrance.”
While he showed Google Maps on his phone, focusing on a storage unit near the base, he said they could get through the surrounding fence line and enter through there.
According to court documents, Said discussed his view of ISIS, saying, “You know, growing up as a kid, I swear to God, I used to think that ISIS was the worst type of people. I used to think that they were horrible. I used to tell my friends, they [ISIS] don’t represent Islam. They are terrorists and whatnot…propaganda. All I seen was propaganda. And when I looked at it from the other perspective, I swear to God, just looking at their face, you know beards, they’re reading the Quran, they’re doing this such and such, helping the people. You know when ISIS controlled Iraq and part of Syria, right? When they had the capital in Mosul. People used to leave their shops open, you go to pray, and come back, and nothing was stolen. The masjids would be full, everyone would help each other out. And when then they took over, of course they said, ‘Oh we don’t like the dawlah’ and ‘We don’t like ISIS because such and such.’ ‘Cause if you say, ‘Oh we like ISIS,’ they are gonna kill you, straight up.”
On Nov. 15, 2024, Said met with the two FBI undercover agents at a park, discussing how they should prepare for the alleged attack, “Preparing is probably two ways. Get familiar with guns, you know, AR, go to the range, practice on them. I mean, they’re not hard, it’s really not hard, you just aim and shoot.”
Said allegedly drove the two undercover agents around TACOM, showing an entrance to the base and the storage unit near it. He allegedly said, “Honestly, if we wanted to, I mean, it’s perfect, there’s a storage unit, we can even store guns and stuff there.”
He also reportedly talked about using Molotov cocktails in the plotted attack, “…so, if we wanted to shoot ‘em and go inside, we can throw a Molotov, ‘cause it’s fire, right? And one cool thing is if you mix Molotov with [a component]…” an undercover agent interjected, “Napalm,” and Said responded, “Napalm, exactly. It will burn. If it gets on you, s***. If you want to f*** it up even more add [a different component]. It will melt into your skin. Molotov by itself, it will catch fire, but it will turn off pretty quick, but, like you said, if you add [the first component], it becomes a Napalm, which means it will stay on fire.”
Before they left the area, Said reportedly told the undercover agents, “So like, if we were to lay out what we have so far. We’ll go from the storage unit, we’ll have storage, weapons, everything there. Honestly, what we could do is, on the day that we’re trying to attack, we could try to go on the base first with our IDs. If they let us, then we go back outside and we grab the weapons and everything, and then we go back in with the IDs. If they say anything, then we’ll take care of that, and then we go inside. Once we’re inside, we can drive off to that building real quick and then we make a reach for it.”
Said and the undercover agents talked about what kind of weapons he thought they would need for the alleged attack, where he recommended AR-15s. He also said, “I have empty magazines because I used the ammo at the range.”
He described a shop where it was possible to buy ammo at discounted prices and suggested going there. He allegedly suggested telling the gun shop owner that they were interested in buying guns for hunting, and the store owner “won’t even think about it twice. You know, when I went the first time to buy an AR with 300 rounds, seven magazines, he didn’t give a s***. He didn’t ask questions. He didn’t ask why or anything.”
When they went to a pawn shop, they looked at AR-15s and an AR-style pistol. When they left the pawn shop, one of the undercover agents asked Said if he had magazines. He allegedly responded, “Yeah, I got seven. I recommend everyone have about seven magazines because you don’t want to be in there and run out of ammo.”
On Nov. 22, 2024, Said met with the undercover agents again, and one said that “The brothers are happy.” Court documents said this meant approval of the alleged attack plan. An undercover agent also said that they used the money ISIS provided to rent a storage unit near the base they had visited before, and Said responded, “perfect.”
The three then went to an Army surplus store to look at military-style uniforms before heading back to the storage unit near TACOM. The two undercover agents bought military uniforms at Said’s direction. On the way from the Army surplus store, they stopped at a gas station, where Said bought glass bottle drinks, and two other components used for Molotov cocktails he had previously described.
He then discussed the timing of the alleged planned attack, “Regarding the ARs, we need, I would say try to get them as soon as possible… I would say just to bring ‘em as soon as possible, that way we could at least practice with them, we could have ammo and magazines too. The three biggest pieces we’re missing right now is ARs, we’re missing the magazines, the ammo. That’s the three biggest pieces, right? And then, we also need to just get familiar with them, and I show you how to use ‘em, practice with them at the range.”
Said began flying his drone once the three arrived at the storage unit next to TACOM. He used a controller to operate the drone, which also played live video from the drone’s camera.
Said piloted the drone to the front game of TACOM and said, “That’s where the guards are.” He then directed the drone at different entry points and vehicles entering and exiting the base.
“Perfect, perfect. See, there’s a car going in too, so it’s gonna have to go through the checkpoint,” he reportedly told the undercover agents.
“Alright, get ready to do some illegal s***,” he said as he had his drone fly over TACOM. He then pointed to the video feed from the drone’s camera and detailed his alleged plan to enter and attack: “So, entrance. This is the entrance right here, right?... Once we go in, this is gonna be the road we’re takin’—if it’s the main entrance, right? We’re gonna go, that’s the main entrance this way. Last I remember, there was a cop sometimes over here, and he’ll be around this area…I don’t see him there this time, but he was here last time. Last time I was there. Anyway, so we go in straight that way, target building is this right here…”
Said allegedly proceeded to show on his drone camera where the military worked on the tanks and other entrances to the base. He also allegedly talked about a plan to get into a building to shoot from the windows and possibly hold hostages.
After practicing a series of drills, Said reportedly told the undercover agents, “Of course, anything you see, shoot it.”
He then described to the undercover agents on how to assemble a Molotov cocktail.
Before the meeting ended on Nov. 22, 2024, Said and one of the undercover agents watched a training video that Said showed on his phone. The video included a discussion about using weapons against potential threats. Said then told the undercover agent, “For us, whether they’re armed or not, it’s shoot-to-kill.”
Said tells undercover agents his dream about jihad
Court documents said on Dec. 13, 2024, that Said told the undercover agents that he had a dream where he was praying in a masjid and asked the man leading the prayer, “Where’s this jihad? Where do we go for jihad?”
The man in his dream responded, “Sham.” Court documents explained that this referred to the greater region of Syria, often referred to as the Levant.
He said he talked about this dream with a friend and stated, “I think I’m going to Syria.”
One of the undercover agents asked if he booked a ticket. Said responded, “No, but I’ll book it. I wanted to talk to you first ‘cause, you know, people over there, but it’s up to you [undercover agents] if you want to continue with this [TACOM attack]. If you do, I’ll support you with everything that I can. If not, it’s completely up to you… I was fully going for that plan, until I had that dream.”
An undercover agent said, “I want you to be on your decision.”
Said then stated, “I don’t want you guys to think that I’m backing away from this… Until I had that dream out of nowhere.”
He then said he was “a hundred percent” and “dead set” on traveling to Syria, and he would purchase a ticket soon.
Said talked about bringing a friend with him to Syria.
One of the undercover agents showed Said an ISIS flag they represented was from a “brother” in Syria and said that if Said was committed, they should record a video to show “the brothers.” Said then showed the undercover agent a “speech” on his phone that he reportedly prepared.
The three then drove to the storage locker near TACOM, and the undercover agents recorded Said delivering a message in Arabic in front of the ISIS flag one of the FBI agents had brought.
Court documents provided a still image from the video:
Said questions undercover agents
Later that evening on Dec. 13, 2024, Said met with the two undercover agents again. The FBI agents said they found an Apple AirTag in their car following their earlier meeting with him.
Said told them he left it there because he wanted to see if the two were actually law enforcement.
One of the undercover agents asked Said if he was “getting cold feet” and whether “he wanted to walk out.”
Said responded, “No. I’m not gonna back [out]... … I’m going for this….but the thing is like I said, I just want to make sure who you are—say you are…I don’t wanna go to the airport and then—just get arrested over there…”
On Dec. 15, 2024, one of the undercover agents sent Said a screenshot of a flight confirmation number, with the passenger name scratched out, for a non-stop Turkey Airlines Flight from Detroit Wayne County Airport for Dec. 18, 2024, destined for Istanbul, Turkey.
Said did not respond to the screenshot and did not have any further contact until 2025.
Further alleged planning of attack
Said texted the undercover agent who sent a screenshot of the plane ticket in February 2025, asking how the other undercover agent was doing. They said the second undercover agent “went to the place we talked about, and everything is going good alhamdullah.”
The second undercover agent contacted Said through an online encrypted communication platform on April 8, 2025. Said told them, “I can’t believe I’m hearing your voice. This feels so good, Walla. There’s no way.”
Said told the undercover agent that he was “embarrassed” for not “showing up” and not having the “courage” to talk to the two undercover agents after abandoning them. They agreed to meet in person to talk more.
The two undercover agents and Said met at a coffee shop in Dearborn. Said asked the second undercover agent what Syria was like. They responded that they received training there.
On May 4, 2025, Said met with one of the undercover agents and talked about how the second undercover agent should be the one conducting the planned attack on TACOM. Said responded, “I’m all for it. Only thing that sucks is my family is here.”
The undercover agent said that the ISIS leader wanted to show that a “solo jihadi” can conduct an attack, so they asked if Said wanted to help. Said reportedly responded, “Absolutely…Yeah, yeah, yeah, of course.”
Said told the undercover agent that once the second undercover agent is in, “that place is going to get surrounded, so it’s a one-way mission.”
Said talked about the need for him and the first undercover agent to be far away from the second undercover agent in the conducted attack, allegedly suggesting they could have “the drone on top.”
Said allegedly stated that once the second undercover agent goes into the base, “that’s when we back away…This is gonna be really, really, big s***… Every organization in the US is gonna be investigating.”
He then reportedly talked about escaping to Syria.
Said allegedly suggested making a video message that would be sent out after that attack, saying the message should include “we’re not targeting civilians or whatever. We’re targeting military assets so that way they can’t use anything against us that will backfire.”
Said suggested during a meeting on May 8, 2025, to surveil TACOM one more time since the attack would be on U.S. soil, so they needed to be very careful.
“If you want, we can go one more time, and we can go over it,” Said stated. “I brought the drone with me just so we can scout the area one more time. Maybe it clears up your mind to have one final view of it.”
Court documents claimed Said gave seven rifle magazines to the second undercover agent; three were loaded with armor-piercing ammunition. Said pointed to the tip of the ammunition and said, “Do you see the green? Armor-piercing.”
Said recommended that they should delete all of their message from each other. One of the undercover agents told him “the brothers” would be sending two new phones for the attack. Said indicated the phones and their SIM card should be destroyed after the attack.
Said told the two that he believed the best entry point was a certain road near the TACOM facility because he claimed there were no surveillance cameras there.
He also recommended flying a drone over the TACOM facility during the attack to give the second undercover agent “overwatch.”
Said agreed that the day of the attack would be on May 13, 2025, at around 10:30 a.m.
Said then launched his drone to fly over the TACOM facility and showed significant points for the attack. He also said the second undercover agent should dress in a military outfit on the day of the attack so they would not stand out inside the base.
The first undercover agent and Said agreed to meet at the park in Dearborn at 9:30 a.m. the day of the planned attack.
He said the second undercover agent should mention Gaza when livestreaming the attack, saying, “We want publicity as much as we want. The publicity will do more damage than… what we’re going to be doing, ‘cause it will win the hearts of the people. Cause this is not just an attack. ‘Cause taking down twenty people won’t destroy the U.S. Army. It’s the symbol it represents. It’s the hearts of the people we win, you know?”
Said acknowledged that it was the last time he would likely see the second undercover agent. Said told them he loved them, he would pray for them and embraced them.
The day of the scheduled attack
On the day of the scheduled attack, Said was observed by law enforcement surveillance at his house at 9:30 a.m., dressed in all black clothing. He went into his car and drove to the park in Dearborn.
After arriving at the park, he went into the first undercover agent’s car. He brought his drone with him.
They drove to the TACOM facility as planned, and about ten minutes before arriving near TACOM, the first undercover agent called the second undercover agent to let them know they would be arriving soon.
Once they arrived and Said launched his drone near TACOM, law enforcement arrested him.
