Officer Jason Falconer was off duty when he stopped the stabbing attack at Crossroads Center in St. Cloud on Saturday.
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People who knew Adan said he seemed to live a relatively quiet life in this town 70 miles northwest of Minneapolis.
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. Last year, some Somali-American students walked out in protest, saying they were being harassed and called members of Islamic State.
St. Cloud police had three previous interactions with Adan for minor incidents like traffic violations, according to Anderson. Nine people were injured by an attacker who was killed inside the Macy’s store by an off-duty Avon police officer.
Like the police, Minnesota FBI spokesman Kyle Loven declined to say Sunday if investigators believe Saturday night’s attack at the Crossroads Center mall in St. Cloud was a terrorist act.
Dayton and Lt. Gov. Tina Smith are scheduled to meet with St. Cloud Mayor Dave Kleis on Monday morning.
Abdi Nor Adan, a 27-year-old Somali-American college student who was not related to Adan, said, “A lot of people say he used to be cool, a nice guy”. However, the Federal Bureau of Investigation will also continue to investigate.
The mall stabbings are being investigated as a possible act of terrorism.
The growth in the Somali refugee population in St. Cloud has escalated tensions, particularly in the school system.
According to police, Dahir Ahmed Adan, 20, reportedly said something about “Allah” and asked a victim if they were Muslim before attacking them.
Information for this article was contributed by Jeff Baenen, Amy Forliti and Bassem Mroue of The Associated Press; by Mitch Smith of The New York Times; and by Kristine Guerra and Ellen Nakashima and The Washington Post.
Johnson says it’s important for Congress to learn more about these men in order to evaluate efforts to counter homegrown extremism. It isn’t clear whether Adan was radicalized.
The Republican is in a close race for re-election with Democrat Russ Feingold.
Falconer said he was at the mall on Saturday “buying his son’s birthday present”, which he was able to bring home despite the horrific scene that unfolded. Mordal suffered a stab wound that required stitches. Falconer will not return to duty for at least two months, although that scheduling was set before Saturday’s incident, Nellis said. Another man suggested Adan had been provoked into a mall fight.
He got up and continued his terrifying assault each time he was shot until he was eventually fatally wounded. All ten victims survived their wounds.
It doesn’t appear anyone else was involved in the attack, which began at around 8 p.m. and was over within minutes, Police Chief Blair Anderson said.
The medical examiner’s office has also now authorized the release of the suspect’s name.
The attacker, dressed in a security guard outfit, was identified by Minnesota Somali community leaders as Dahir Adan.
“We don’t know if the suspect was in contact with or inspired by foreign terrorist organizations”, Thornton said.
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“We need to know, so that we make sure as a community, we stand together as a community, and make sure it does not happen to us ever again”.
