© Ariana Lindquist/BloombergMall of America, the nation’s biggest shopping center in Bloomington, Minnesota.
Jeh Johnson's comments during an interview Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union" program followed the release of a video Saturday by the terror group al-Shabaab that called for attacks in Canada, the U.S. and the U.K., according to the news network.
"If anyone is planning to go to the Mall of America today, they've got to be particularly careful," Johnson said. He said later on NBC's "Meet the Press" that he wasn't telling people to steer clear of the mall.
Gunmen from al-Shabaab, based in Somalia, attacked a shopping mall in Kenya in September 2013. At least 67 people died during the attack, which lasted for days. Minneapolis is home to one of the largest Somali populations in the U.S., and federal officials have said al-Shabaab lured recruits from the region.
The world is dealing with a "new phase" of global terrorism, Johnson said on NBC. Previously, terror groups would train recruits to commit acts of violence and then send them into other countries to carry out plans. Now, such groups are using the Internet and social media to push people to carry out attacks on their own, he said.
Comment: Ah yes, the old 'warning' before a funding vote for Homeland Security.