One victim was expected to remain there, but the other seven patients had already been released or were expected to be let go shortly, officials said. “As we gather the facts and learn more about how this happened, I will be working closely with local and federal officials to get to the bottom of this, and to make sure that Minnesotans are safe”.
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Also at the news conference, Richard Thornton with the FBI’s Minneapolis office said the attack was being treated as a “potential act of terrorism”.
The New York Times report of the claims made by ISIS mentions that the Amaq News Agency bulletin announced that the ISIS was taking credit for the vocation of the mall attacker.
The group encourages so-called lone wolf attacks in countries participating an anti-Daesh coalition led by the U.S.
Weires and her friends were able to leave the mall before authorities enforced a lockdown.
A pipe bomb also exploded in a New Jersey beach town on Saturday along the route of a charity race to benefit military veterans but no injuries were reported in what investigators also were treating as a possible act of terrorism.
The attack in St. Cloud occurred the same evening that an explosion rocked New York City’s bustling Chelsea district on Saturday, injuring 29 people in what authorities described as a deliberate criminal act.
The attacker charged at Falconer, who fired his weapon, causing him to fall down, the Guardian reported. In addition, nine Minnesota men face sentencing on terror charges for plotting to join the Islamic State group.
“That suspect was confronted by an off-duty police officer and summarily shot and killed”, he said.
Later in the day, an Federal Bureau of Investigation official said investigators were viewing the attack as possible terrorism.
“I am appalled at the bad attacks on innocent Minnesotans in St. Cloud last night”. Officer Falconer’s quick actions saved lives and prevented additional injuries, and we are grateful for his heroism.
Authorities don’t believe the knife-wielding man was a mall employee but declined to comment on whether the incident was an act of worldwide terrorism.
An Islamic State-run news agency claims the man who stabbed and wounded eight people at a mall in Minnesota before being shot dead by an off-duty police officer was a “soldier of the Islamic State”.
Along with being president and owner of Tactical Advantage and Tactical Advantage Firearms Training, the 43-year-old Falconer’s professional bio notes that he has assisted St. Cloud State University with law enforcement training “in the disciplines of decision shooting and dynamic entry” in realistic situations.
“Officer Falconer was there at the right time at the right place”, Mayor Kleis said.
Executive Director of CAIR Jaylani Hussein says he’s concerned about backlash from the Saturday night attack.
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The Minnesota attack came as 29 people were injured in a bomb blast in a busy NY neighborhood. “Starting tomorrow, things won’t be the same”. “I just thought someone tipped over a shelf”. Photos and video of the mall taken hours after the incident showed groups of shoppers waiting to be released, including some huddled together near a food court entrance. All of a sudden these people started running. “I saw this security guard sprinting down the hallway toward Target”, Weires explained.
