MN Man Allegedly Tried to Join Jihad in Somalia & Threatened to 'Chop' His Mother & Sister 'in Pieces

A young man in St. Paul, Minnesota, has been charged with making terroristic threats. According to Sharmarke Duale's family, the 20-year-old began to turn violent after he decided to join jihad in Somalia. According to the complaint, Duale was a fine student in high school and college, but his flare for jihadist tendencies allegedly developed after he began attending a local mosque (the specific mosque isn't mentioned in the documentation).

Duale was allegedly attempting to convince his father to help him obtain the documents needed to travel to Somalia. To accomplish this goal, the young man needed a passport, which authorities claim he unsuccessfully threatened his family to secure.

According to the complaint, police were called to the family's home last Tuesday in response to an assault that was taking place. Authorities were told that a son had stabbed his mother and that he was attempting to re-enter the home by breaking a window with a shovel. When officers arrived, Duale was on the porch, shovel in hand. His mother, who was in the home, had visible wounds on her hands.

Duale had purportedly attempted to stab his father, but when his mother intervened, she sustained the cuts. The report also claims that he punched his sister and on other occasions threatened to "chop (his sister and mother) in pieces" and "kill the girls."

The complaint also alleges that the parents expressed fear of their son, while claiming that Duale was attempting to raise money for jihad. His father is quoted as telling authorities that the son said, "Take me out of this country, or I will show you what will happen; things will not be good for you."

Mohamed Duale -- the boy's father -- is denying these claims, though.

"We never said these words," he told a reporter following the incident. "This is wrong what they put here; this is not from my family."

The accused is denying all of these claims, as he maintains that he has no mental health or drug problems and that his mother cut herself. His family's allegations, he says, are lies. Duale has been ordered to have no contact with his parents and was being held as of Friday on $10,000 bail. This is Duale's first recorded brush with the law.

(H/T: TwinCities.com)