The attacker was identified by his own father as 22-year-old Dahir Adan, a Somali-American college student who came to the U.S. fifteen years ago and was a student at St. Cloud Technical and Community College.
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St Cloud police chief Blair Anderson said the attack appeared to be the work of an individual and there was no sign that the man, identified as 20-year-old Dahir Adan, was radicalised or communicated with any terrorist group.
NBC2 reached out to mall management multiple times Monday to ask if they’re planning any security changes after Saturday’s attack, but they have not responded.
He was a student at Jefferson Elementary from 2001 to 2005.
Adan was shot and killed by an off-duty officer at Crossroads Center mall in St. Cloud..
Rumors swirled on Monday among the city’s close-knit Somali community, with some worrying over escalating tensions directed at Muslims or wondering what led to the attack.
ISIS is claiming responsibility for the recent mass stabbing at a Minnesota mall after calling the attacker a soldier of the Islamic State. He had “no suspicion” that he was involved in any terrorist activity, he added.
Officials said the man, whom his father has identified as 22-year-old Dahir Adan, was dressed as a security guard when he stabbed people Saturday. One student had said Somali-Americans were called IS members and had their headscarves pulled off.
After the stabber was confirmed dead, the police chief said two search warrants were executed at an address in St. Cloud, and the suspect’s vehicle has been impounded.
A woman who was working at Crossroads Center on Saturday night, about 50 feet away from where the attack ended, told Fox 9 she heard a scuffle between some people, then gunshots, then a voice yelling for her to get down.
According to authorities, the assailant wore a security guard’s uniform and mentioned Allah, asking at least one of his victims if the person was Muslim before continuing his attack.
Adan was fatally shot by Jason Falconer, the operator of a firearms range and a part-time officer with the Avon Police Department.
Falconer is a hero, sure, but he’s also a victim of the attack (Adan was lunging at him on security footage with a knife, so his life was very much in danger) and has been trying to stay out of the spotlight.
President Barack Obama said the stabbings had no apparent connection to weekend bombings in NY and New Jersey.
Though the motive in Saturday’s stabbings isn’t yet known, a major concern for law enforcement as they have battled terror recruiting in Minnesota has been the possibility that a young Somali who embraced radical messages might carry out violence in the U.S.
Nor has Jaylani Hussein, the executive director of Council of American-Islamic Relations’ Minnesota chapter, who said some local Somali-Americans were nervous about being viewed as “guilty by association”.
The attack was reported about 8:15 p.m. and Anderson says the time between the first 911 call and when the suspect was killed was approximately five minutes.
Eight victims were treated at St. Cloud Hospital; one went to the hospital at Long Prairie.
“Jason has been a member of the United States Practical Shooters Association (USPSA) as well as a local club, St. Cloud Area Practical Shooters Association (SCAPSA) for many years”. Late Monday, Capital One said that after a review of company records, Adan had never worked there.
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Minnesota is home to 25,000 immigrants from Somalia, the largest Somali population in the country. Authorities have declined to name the suspect because of the ongoing investigation.
