In yet another possible terrorist attack at a USA shopping mall, a Minnesota police chief said the part-time officer who fatally shot a man stabbing people at the mall was “the right person, at the right place, at the right time” to prevent the attack from getting worse.
Advertisement
St. Cloud police say that while they were reviewing security footage as part of their investigation into Saturday’s stabbing at Crossroads Center mall, they found another man had been hurt.
No link has emerged between terrorist groups and the man who stabbed 10 people in a St. Cloud mall Saturday night, September 17.
Police said multiple people were injured at the St. Cloud shopping mall on Saturday evening in an attack possibly involving both shooting and stabbing.
Adan’s family said they were “devastated by the incomprehensible tragic event” and in “deep shock” a spokesman for his relatives told NBC station KARE.
According to the Associated Press on Sunday, an Islamic State-run news agency claimed the suspect was a “soldier of the Islamic State,” saying the attacker had heeded calls from the extremist group for attacks in countries that are part of a US -led anti-IS coalition.
Police officers did not definitively name Adan as the suspect, but his father, Ahmed Adan, and some in the city’s Somali American community identified him as the attacker. “There is a lot we don’t know”, said Rick Thornton, FBI special agent.
If the stabbings on Saturday are determined to be a terrorist act, it would be the first carried out by a Somali in the United States, said Karen Greenberg, director of the Center on National Security at Fordham University School of Law, to the Associated Press.
“If I was going to ask anybody to fire live rounds in a crowded mall, I would trust his abilities next to anybody’s”, Nellis said.
“This is the test that we need to show that this community is stronger and more resilient than what has been reported”, Hussein said. “Clearly he made a decision, and if not for him being there clearly this would be much worse than it was”, St. Cloud Mayor Dave Kleis told reporters. ABC News reveals that, while making his way through Minnesota’s Crossroads Center Mall disguised as a security guard, he not only mentioned Allah but also asked one of the victims he stabbed if they were Muslim.
“We know it’s going to be a long winter for this community”, said Haji Yusuf, who is part of UniteCloud, a local group founded to tackle racial and ethnic tension in the city.
Anderson said the man began attacking people right after entering the mall, stabbing people in several spots. He is also a former police chief in the nearby city of Albany and a competitive shooter.
“It was a pa-pow, and then we saw the people start to run, which didn’t catch me at first”, he said.
The couple escaped unharmed and said they helped another woman who was running from the scene to her auto. He said they are viewing the attack as a “possible act of terrorism”.
The mall reopened Monday after being closed Sunday. Obama on Monday praised Falconer’s actions.
Leaders of the local Somali community gave a press conference Sunday to “strongly condemn any terrorist attack” and give their condolences to the victims and their families. But authorities are investigating the attacks as a potential act of terrorism.
Some in Minnesota’s Somali community have long expressed suspicion of law enforcement and charge that Somali youth are stigmatised as terrorists, and baited by Federal Bureau of Investigation informants.
The possibility of an attack on USA soil has been a major concern for law enforcement.
“Without training, some people freeze”, he said, adding that an emphasis on the constitutional rights of gun owners has overshadowed the necessity of training.
Advertisement
While an ISIS-affiliated media outlet claimed the attacker was a “soldier” of the terror group, no evidence has emerged to suggest ISIS had a hand in planning or executing the attack.
