Mumbai Part Deux. A dedicated group of individuals with no regard for their final outcome, decide to inflict as much death as possible on unsuspected victims in an enclosed space.
Can we expect something like that here in the US? Probably. In a mall near you? It depends.

New York Rep. Peter King, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, said on ABC’s “This Week” that al-Shabab is “one of the only Al Qaeda affiliates which actually has actively recruited here in the United States.”
He called the Saturday mall attack a “well coordinated, well planned massacre.”

          Via Fox News.

The answer to the question if it will happen in the US would be: Probably. It is not like these idiots have not thought about it or wanted to do it. For all we know they tried and failed somehow without the public finding out about it. But they only have to be successful once.

Will it happen in a mall or other location near you? We should go back to the definition of terrorism:

ter·ror·ism
noun \ˈter-ər-ˌi-zəm\

: the use of violent acts to frighten the people in an area as a way of trying to achieve a political goal.

Depending on where you live, a terrorist attack will have a greater or lesser impact. One thing for sure is that they will try to obtain as much attention as possible as their actions create both death and havoc: Death as immediate and havoc as people not directly affected are thrown off their normalcy and routine. Now, the more people find out about a particular act of terrorism, the better. It is a psychological epidemic that requires a carrier and that would be the Media.

I know some writers of thrillers have toyed with the idea of terrorists attacking in a Middle America town, I just simply don’t see it. It is too far away from established media outlets, requires too much preparation & logistics and the return in victims and shock value might be too low. However, an attack on a big mall in the middle of Los Angeles, Washington D.D., New York or even Atlanta would guarantee not only a high body count but instantaneously and international media coverage that would spread the fear faster than an attack in a mall from Bowling Green, KY.

So you may want to prepare for an attack on a big mall or any other place where people concentrate, with limited entries and exits in a major urban area with an important Media hub. And in view of another attack this past week that has garnered less attention but higher body count, churches are not to be ignored as targets but probably moved to the top of the list, maybe second place. And yes, suicide bombers are also an option to be considered.

I bet the question you wanna see answered is:  Will Concealed Carry Laws or Gun Culture on a particular state/city affect the decision to attack? Truth be told, I don’t think so as it does not matter seeing that the top three juicy targets are gun free zones for all intents and purposes. Atlanta may not be considered because it does not have the world cachet that NY, LA and DC have but also one person in sixteen in the state of Georgia carry a concealed weapon. And even though is pretty stupid to meet a rifle with a handgun, I would offer that terrorists would rather be not shot at before they finish what they came to do. If a couple of people with concealed carry manage to pop Saleem and Jameel thus creating a wider exit for people to exit and reducing the number of victims, the boss back at Camel Station One in Somalia or whatever he is stationed may not like it.

Anyway and overall, the chances that you will be directly affected by a terrorist attack is very small. The chances of all of us being affected by government overreaction to a terrorist attack within the US is high as they will want us to keep us safe by TSAing the crap out of our lives. And that can be more dangerous as some Somali idiot with an AK-47; at least we can shoot that bastard.