ST. CLOUD, Minn. _ The attack in St. Cloud's main shopping center that left nine people with stab wounds is being treated as an act of terrorism, federal authorities said Sunday.
Police Chief William Blair Anderson said an off-duty officer from another jurisdiction confronted and shot the attacker to death Saturday night in Crossroads Center. He said the man _ dressed in a private security uniform _ reportedly asked at least one victim whether they were Muslim before assaulting them, and referred to Allah during the attacks.
"We are currently investigating this as a potential act of terrorism," Richard Thornton of the FBI said Sunday. Thornton did not link the attack to a specific terrorist group.
Roughly 12 hours after the stabbings, a news agency said to speak for Islamic State claimed credit in a Twitter posting for the mall attacks. "The executor of the stabbing attacks in Minnesota yesterday was a soldier of the Islamic State and carried out the operation in response to the citizens of countries belonging to the crusader coalition," the posting by the AMAQ news agency read.
It was not immediately clear whether Islamic State had planned the attack or was giving a nod to a "lone wolf" _ of which there have been many around the world _ inspired by the terrorist group's global message.
The FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force is working with police to analyze the attacker's social media and other contacts.
While law enforcement officials did not immediately reveal the name of the attacker, his father identified him as Dahir A. Adan, 22, a student at St. Cloud Technical and Community College. Interviewed Sunday through a translator, Ahmed Adan said his son was born in Africa and had lived in the United States for 15 years.
Police told Ahmed Adan at about 9 p.m. Saturday that his son had died at the mall. He said that he had "no suspicion" of his son being involved in any terrorist activity. The father added that police raided his apartment Sunday morning and seized photos and other materials, but they said nothing to him about the stabbings at the mall.
Mayor Dave Kleis said there were nine stabbing victims, with three remaining hospitalized Sunday morning. The officer who killed the suspect was identified as Jason Falconer, a former police chief in nearby Albany.
"The officer's life was clearly in danger," Kleis said, pointing to interior surveillance video that shows the officer shooting, and the suspect falling and getting back up three times, and at one point lunging toward Falconer.
The shooting of the St. Cloud suspect happened inside Macy's, Kleis said. Those stabbed were attacked starting about 8:15 p.m. in corridors, businesses and common areas, authorities said. The victims ranged in age from 15 to 50.
