The Mall of America in Bloomington employs about “11,000 year-round employees”, where “400+ events are held”, “520+ stores are located”, and “40 million visitors annually which is more than the combined populations of North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa…and Canada” (Mall of America Official Website). With all this in mind, plus much more, its easy to visualize just how massive this mall is, which also makes it Internationally known since “4 out of 10 visitors to Mall of America are tourists.”  In the news recently, it has been reported that the terrorist organization “Al- Shabab”, has made terroristic threats directed toward the mall. Since human nature is hard wired to fight for survival, its instinctive to cancel all shopping plans but before that decisions is made, make sure you understand the whole situation.

First, lets make sure we know who “Al-Shabab” is, and where they came from. Al Shabab originated in Somalia, forming as a militant sect of The Somali Council of Islamic Courts in the 2000s. The United States recognized them as a terrorist organization in 2008, especially due to its connections with Al-Qaeda, “Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri announced a formal alliance between the two groups in February 2012.” (ABC News).  By 2007, Al-Shabab gained control over Southern Somalia. And, “According to federal officials, many of the American recruits come from Somali-American communities in Minnesota. The FBI has been investigating the phenomenon for years in what they call “Operation Rhino.”” (ABC News). Al -Shabab translates to “The Youth” in English, and a new tactic these extremist groups are employing is encouraging “home-grown” attacks.

So Is the MOA safe?

On February 23, The Mall conducted 2 Lockdown Drills which were said to have been previously scheduled and are listed on their website. They are fully aware of the threat, and so are federal agencies, “MOA Security also works closely with various local and federal law enforcement agencies to enhance the safety and security of our guests, tenants and employees.” (MOA Official Website). The Mall stated that they are upping their security and some measures will be obvious, and others will not but none the less, “Mall of America Security is a nationally recognized department staffed with over 100 highly-trained personnel that prides itself on its high caliber officers, training and forward thinking attitude.”

“the FBI and Department of Homeland Security said Sunday that so-called “homegrown violent extremists” are “not likely to respond immediately” to the weekend call for attacks because such homegrown radicals are paying “greater attention … to supporting fighters in other foreign conflict zones, such as Syria,”” ( ABC News)

Several sources have announced that there is no immediate credible threat to the Mall, and to give in to the fear of terror could only make the problem worse, but the threat is still being taken seriously. Whether or not you decide to stay away from the mall is up to you. Whatever you a comfortable with, know that our security, law enforcement, and intelligence services excel at what they do, and are working diligently to protect the citizens of The United States of America, and we do not waver in the face of terror.

Note: The information used in this article was acquired from ABC news and The Mall of America official website