A person carried out a stabbing attack on Saturday at a mall in St. Cloud, Minnesota, injuring at least eight people before dying in the violent incident, officials said.
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The St. Cloud Times reports that the mall has been walled off by a “major police presence”, and that multiple people have been stabbed.
St. Cloud Police Sgt. Jason Burke told the St. Cloud Times multiple victims were taken to the hospital.
He said police have no evidence to believe more than one person was involved in the attack.
The Star Tribune reported that “early police audio said the suspect was wearing security or police clothing”, but added that the information had not been confirmed.
But Anderson declined to call the attacks an act of terrorism, saying the motive for the attacks isn’t known yet.
Witnesses say the incident occurred quickly, with no notifications from mall personnel that an emergency was ongoing. “What we know it is is a lone suspect who attacked eight people”.
The suspect is dead at the scene and the mall is still in lockdown, according to St. Cloud police.
Anthony Bellow, 18, a Technical High School student who recently moved to St. Cloud from Columbus, Ohio, went to the mall to visit his brother Dominic, 21, who works at Target, and was told to leave. “Her friend called to let us know they were OK; they are on lockdown”, she said.
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The suspected attacker reportedly made references to Allah before he was killed.
