Derrick Shareef, also known as Talib Abu Salam Ibn Shareef, is a convicted

Islamic terrorist Islamic terrorism (also known as Islamist terrorism or radical Islamic terrorism) refers to terrorist acts with religious motivations carried out by fundamentalist militant Islamists and Islamic extremists. Incidents and fatalities ...

who was charged with trying to trade

stereo speakers Stereophonic sound, or more commonly stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configuration ...

for

handgrenade A grenade is an explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a Shell (projectile), shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A modern ...

s and a

handgun A handgun is a short- barrelled gun, typically a firearm, that is designed to be usable with only one hand. It is distinguished from a long gun (i.e. rifle, shotgun or machine gun, etc.), which needs to be held by both hands and also braced ...

as part of plan to terrorize shoppers at

CherryVale Mall CherryVale Mall (originally The Mall at Cherryvale) is a shopping mall in Rockford, Illinois, along its border with Cherry Valley. Located at the intersection of US 20, Interstate 39, and Interstate 90, the two-story mall is the largest shoppin ...

Rockford, Illinois Rockford is a city in Winnebago County, Illinois, located in the far northern part of the state. Situated on the banks of the Rock River, Rockford is the county seat of Winnebago County (a small portion of the city is located in Ogle County). ...

. Last known to reside in

Genoa, Illinois Genoa is a city in the north-east corner of DeKalb County, Illinois, DeKalb County, Illinois, United States. It is located on the historic Galena-Chicago trail, Galena-Chicago stagecoach route. At the 2020 census the city had a population of 5,29 ...

, Shareef was arrested by

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...

agents in Rockford on 6 December 2006.Man Arrested in Alleged Illinois Mall Terror Plot
Fox news
CNN Shareef was charged with one count of attempting to damage or destroy a building by fire or explosion and one count of attempting to use a

weapon of mass destruction A weapon of mass destruction (WMD) is a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or any other weapon that can kill and bring significant harm to numerous individuals or cause great damage to artificial structures (e.g., buildings), natura ...

. He faces a maximum sentence of

life in prison Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...

on the latter charge.Man accused of terror plot on CherryVale Mall appears in court
DeKalb Daily Chronicle Shareef was born in 1984 to mother Margaret Ann "Marie" Dunn and was raised mostly in Georgia, before moving to Illinois with his family. He was raised alongside one older brother, Marvin Dunn, and one younger sister, Christina Shareef. Shareef, a convert to the

Nation of Islam The Nation of Islam (NOI) is a religious and political organization founded in the United States by Wallace Fard Muhammad in 1930. A black nationalist organization, the NOI focuses its attention on the African diaspora, especially on African ...

, was steered by an undercover informant from wanting to "smoke a judge" to a more public plan to "disrupt Christmas." On November 28, 2007, Shareef pleaded guilty to a specific charge of planning to use weapons of mass destruction against persons and property. Although he pleaded guilty, Shareef said he hadn't intended to hurt anyone and was "coerced into doing things and trapped into doing things." Federal investigators have not alleged Shareef had anything to do with any prominent terrorist group. Shareef faced 30 years to life in prison when he was to be sentenced March 14, 2008. Shareef was sentenced to 35 years in prison on September 30, 2008 by U.S. District Judge David Coar. Coar said he did not believe Shareef was evil, but said a substantial sentence was necessary given the gravity of what was planned and to protect the public. Shareef is currently serving his sentence at FCI Greenville"Man sentenced in thwarted mall attack," ''Chicago Breaking News'', Sept. 30, 2008
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shareef, Derrick Islamic terrorism in the United States African-American Muslims Converts to Islam Members of the Nation of Islam Living people People convicted on terrorism charges American people imprisoned on charges of terrorism Year of birth missing (living people)