Obama aide warns mall shoppers to be vigilant

The secretary of homeland security is warning shoppers at Minnesota's Mall of America and similar venues to be vigilant in the wake of new terrorist threats.

"I'm not telling people to not go to the mall," Secretary Jeh Johnson said on NBC's Meet The Press. "I think that there needs to be an awareness."

He also said, "I'm saying that the public needs to be particularly vigilant."

The Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn., has heightened security after threats in a video from a group claiming to part of al-Shabaab, a Somali militant group affiliated with al-Qaeda.

Johnson, who made appearances on five Sunday shows, said the threat against the Mall of America reflects the fact that foreign groups are encouraging local supporters to conduct attacks in their homelands.

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"We're in a new phase now, and I'm afraid that this most recent video release reflects that," Johnson said on ABC's This Week.