Contacted by the Star Tribune, Falconer said: “I’ve been trying to stay away from it all, for the time being”.
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He told the newspaper he wasn’t hurt and declined to talk further, citing the ongoing investigation for not saying more.
No one answered the door late Sunday at a home address listed for Falconer, and a voicemail box for a telephone listing was full and not accepting new messages.
Local Somali community leaders held a press conference Sunday afternoon, condemning the actions of the suspect in the stabbing.
The FBI said Sunday it was investigating a stabbing spree at a Minnesota mall as a “potential act of terrorism”, as local media identified the suspect as a 22-year-old Somali-American. She later called and said she was safe in a secured area.
The suspect behind a mass stabbing at a Minnesota shopping centre has been named as Dahir Adan, it has been reported.
Shortly before 9 p.m., a St. Cloud police officer with an assault rifle could be seen near the west entrance of Macy’s.
Meanwhile, St. Cloud Technical and Community College says Adan was never a student there, as has been reported.
Officers from St. Cloud, Waite Park, Cold Spring and the Minnesota State Patrol, as well as Gold Cross ambulance and St. Cloud Fire Department crews were on the scene.
Adan said that police raided the family apartment in St Cloud, and seized photos and other materials, but noted that he didn’t learn about his son’s rampage in the nearby Crossroads Center mall until much later.
Police officials said they were still interviewing witnesses hours after the attack.
Authorities didn’t identify the attacker. Makarral says she saw people walking around inside with blood on them. None of the victims suffered life-threatening injuries. Ahmed Adan, whose family is Somali, said his son was born in Africa and had lived in the USA for 15 years. He said he had “no suspicion” of his son being involved in any terror activity. I am deeply grateful to the heroic law enforcement officer, whose swift response prevented an even worse attack.
Meanwhile, Minnesota police say they are continuing to investigate the stabbing as an act of terrorism.
“We are now investigating this as a potential act of terrorism”, said the FBI’s Richard Thornton, speaking at a news conference at the St Cloud Police Department headquarters.
Police have yet to officially identify the mall attacker, but several Minnesota news outlets and Associated Press have named, and leaders of the Somali-American community in Minnesota have also confirmed his identity.
“Officer Falconer was there at the right time and the right place”, he said.
Seven of the wounded were treated and released, while one victim remains hospitalized.
“Whenever something as very bad as this happens, it’s hard for things to be the same as they were”, Anderson said.
“Unfortunately with ISIS and their “Version 2.0″ of terrorism – where anyone claiming to be a surrogate of the terrorist organization is a member of the terrorist organization – you’re going to have people who are, for one reason or another, going to try to commit acts of terror”.
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An Islamic State statement said the killer, who was wearing a security guard’s uniform, was a “soldier of the Islamic State”.
