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Minnesota mall stabbings: suspected attacker killed after eight people injured Minnesota mall stabbings: suspected attacker killed after eight people injured
(about 1 hour later)
Eight people were injured in a stabbing attack at a Minnesota shopping mall that ended with the suspected attacker, who reportedly made references to Allah, shot dead by an off-duty police officer, authorities said. Hours after eight people were reported injured in a stabbing attack at a Minnesota mall that ended with the suspected attacker, who reportedly made references to Allah, shot dead by an off-duty police officer, the parking lot at the Crossroads Center was deserted.
St Cloud police chief Blair Anderson said during a news conference shortly after midnight that eight people were taken to St Cloud hospital with non-life-threatening injuries following the attack first reported about 8.15pm on Saturday. All eight victims from were treated at a hospital for non-life-threatening wounds, and all but one were later released. An Islamic State-run news agency claimed the man was a “soldier of the Islamic State”. The Rasd news agency claimed the attacker had heeded calls from the extremist group for attacks in countries that are part of a US-led anti-Isis coalition. It has claimed past attacks that are not believed to have been planned by its central leadership.
Anderson said an off-duty police officer from another jurisdiction shot and killed the unidentified suspect. He did not say where that officer serves. Asked by CNN about the Isis claim, St Cloud police chief Blair Anderson said: “We still don’t have anything substantive that would suggest anything more than what we know already, which is that this was a lone attacker. We’re trying to get to the bottom of what his motivations were.”
During a news conference, Anderson said the attacker, who was armed with a knife, reportedly made references to Allah during the attack and asked at least one person whether they were Muslim. Anderson also said “eight or nine people” had been stabbed. “We reported eight yesterday,” he said, “but we’re still trying to confirm that one victim transported themselves to a hospital outside our city.”
But Anderson declined to call the attacks an act of terrorism, saying the motive for the attacks was not yet known. “We will be diligent and get to the bottom of this,” Anderson said. In a news conference shortly after midnight, Anderson said eight people were taken to St Cloud hospital with non-life-threatening injuries following the attack, which was first reported about 8.15pm. All but one of the victims was later released.
The mall remained on lockdown following the incident, but authorities said those remaining inside were expected to be released soon. On Sunday, Anderson told CNN: “If there’s any good news in a situation like this, it’s that.” He also said there was no evidence to connect the stabbing attack with explosions in New York and New Jersey.
Although police have found no clear evidence of the attacker’s motive, an Islamic State-run news agency claimed on Sunday that the man was “soldier of the Islamic State”. Anderson said an off-duty police officer from another jurisdiction shot and killed the unidentified suspect, who was dressed in the uniform of a private security company. He did not say where that officer served.
The Rasd news agency claimed the attacker had heeded calls from the extremist group for attacks in countries that are part of a US-led anti-Isis coalition. It has also claimed past attacks that are not believed to have been planned by its central leadership. Anderson also said the attacker, who was armed with a knife, reportedly made references to Allah and asked at least one person whether they were Muslim. But Anderson declined to call the attacks an act of terrorism.
Harley and Tama Exsted of Isle, Minnesota, who were in St Cloud to watch their son play in a college golf tournament, were in the mall when the incident occurred. On Sunday, speaking to CNN, the police chief said the suspect had not been under any surveillence “of our agency … but we’ve had a number of contacts with him mostly for traffic violations”. Police were trying to figure out if the suspect in fact worked for a private security company or had done previously, he said.
“All of a sudden I heard pop, pop, pop,” Harley Exsted told the St Cloud Times. “I thought someone tipped over a shelf. All of a sudden these people started running. I just saw everybody running our way.” On what would normally be a busy shopping day at the mall, not far from the center of St Cloud, a small city of about 67,000 about 75 miles north-west of Minneapolis, a constant trickle of would-be shoppers circled, confused or trying shop doors and leaving frustrated. A TV truck was set up outside a mattress store near the mall entrance.
There were also reports of shots being fired during the attack. Raymond Well, 64, had come for lunch and had not heard the news of the attack the previous night. “The more people who have guns and knives the more violence there is,” he said.
The couple were unharmed and said they helped another woman who was running from the scene to her car. A sign posted on a shop door by mall management read: “We are devastated by the events that happened at Crossroads Center Saturday evening … our thoughts and prayers are with those who were impacted by this tragic event. We are working closely with law enforcement.”
St Cloud is about 70 miles north-west of Minneapolis. The mall was closed for the day “out of respect to the victims, their families and the ongoing investigation”, the sign said. A spokeswoman for the St Cloud police department said no press conference would be staged on Sunday, as investigations continued.
In his television interview, Anderson said: “Whenever something as awful as this happens, it’s hard for things to be the same as they were. There are a lot of resilient, hardworking people in St Cloud … but certainly things are different today here in St Cloud than they were yesterday.
“I wasn’t on CNN talking to you yesterday.”