Officials are investigating Minnesota mall stabbing as potential act of terrorism By Kristine Guerra and Jessica Contrera
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2016/09/18/man-shot-dead-after-stabbing-8-people-in-a-minnesota-mall/?utm_term=.c55bf4cb84b3&wpisrc=al_alert-COMBO-world%252Bnation
Authorities are investigating the stabbing of nine people inside a Minnesota mall on Saturday night as a potential act of terrorism after a news agency linked to the Islamic State militant group claimed that the attacker was “a soldier of the Islamic State.”
The suspect was identified by community leaders as Dahir Aden, a student at St. Cloud State University and a private security guard at Electrolux, a home appliance store located near the mall. Abdul Kulane, of the Central Minnesota Community Empowerment Organization, said he was contacted by Aden’s parents, who did not know what their son’s motive was for the attack.
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Aden moved to the United States from Kenya at age 2, Kulane said. He grew up in St. Cloud and graduated from Apollo High School. His parents described him as smart, quiet, and interested in soccer. Kulane said he does not believe Aden has taken any recent trips overseas, and his family and his community are in shock.
St. Cloud Mayor Dave Kleis said the attacker lunged at Jason Falconer, a part-time police officer in Avon, Minn., west of St. Cloud. Falconer then fired shots at the stabber, who fell but got up three times before he died.
Falconer “clearly prevented additional injuries and potential loss of life,” Kleis said during a news conference Sunday afternoon. “His heroic actions are exemplary.”
Falconer, who was off duty at the time, is also a former police chief in Albany, Minn.
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The attacker, who was wearing a private security uniform, made at least one reference to Allah during the attack and asked at least one person whether they were Muslim before attacking them, according to the St. Cloud Police Department.
In a statement Sunday, the Amaq news agency — linked to the Islamic State, which is also known as ISIS — said the attacker “carried out the operation in response to calls to target citizens of countries belonging to the crusader coalition.”
Richard Thornton, FBI special agent in Minneapolis, said during the news conference that the stabbings are being investigated as a “potential” act of terrorism, but the suspect’s motive remains unknown.
Officials said there’s no indication at this time that the suspect had direct communications with the Islamic State or that the militant group had planned the attack or knew of it beforehand.
All the victims, whose ages range from 15 to 53, suffered injuries that were not life-threatening. Three remain hospitalized, authorities said.
Officials did not release any information about the attacker. They also did not comment further on the claim by Amaq.
St. Cloud Police Chief William Blair Anderson said investigators have executed search warrants at a residence in St. Cloud. Investigators also found the attacker’s vehicle in the mall parking lot.
“There’s nothing that we have gleaned that would suggest to us that this is anything other than what it appears to be now,” Anderson told reporters Sunday. “At this time, there’s nothing to suggest anything differently than what you’ve been told. There are a lot of moving parts.”
Sydney Weires was at the mall during the incident. She told the St. Cloud Times that she and her friends were walking down a hallway when they heard a loud scream.
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“I saw this security guard sprinting down the hallway toward Target,” Weirs told the paper. “He was yelling, ‘Call the cops! Call the cops!’”
She said they later saw two men drenched in blood; one was bleeding from the side of his face, while the other had blood on the back of his shirt.
“He was screaming at us, ‘Get the F out!’” she said about one of the men, according to the paper.
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