A man who stabbed nine people at a mall in central Minnesota before he was shot
dead
is a "soldier of the Islamic State," the militant group's news agency said on
Sunday,
as the FBI investigated the attack as a potential act of terrorism.
The man, who was wearing a private security uniform, made references to Allah
and
asked at least one person if they were Muslim before he assaulted them at the
Crossroads
Center mall in St. Cloud on Saturday, the city's Police Chief William Blair
Anderson
told reporters.
Authorities declined to identify the suspect, who was killed by an off-duty
policeman,
because the investigation is underway.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation considers the episode a "potential act of
terrorism,"
Richard Thornton, FBI special agent in charge of the agency's Minneapolis
division,
said at a news conference on Sunday.
He said the investigation is in its early stages and it was not known if the man
had discussed his plan of attack with others.
Authorities had said earlier there were eight stabbing victims. One injured
person
transported himself to a hospital and was not initially counted, St. Cloud Mayor
Dave Kleis said at the news conference.
Three victims remained hospitalized as of Sunday but none had life-threatening
injuries,
Kleis said.
Kleis said Jason Falconer, the off-duty officer from the Avon Police Department,
a jurisdiction outside of St. Cloud, "clearly prevented additional injuries and
loss
of life" by shooting the man.
Amaq, the news agency affiliated with the Middle Eastern extremist group Islamic
State, issued a statement on Sunday saying, "The executor of the stabbing
attacks
in Minnesota yesterday was a soldier of the Islamic State and carried out the
operation
in response to calls to target the citizens of countries belonging to the
crusader
coalition."
Reuters was not immediately able to verify the Amaq claim.
The knife attack in St. Cloud, a community about 60 miles (100 km) northwest of
Minneapolis-St.
Paul, came at a time of heightened concern in the United States about the threat
of violence in public places.
An explosion rocked New York City's bustling Chelsea district on Saturday,
injuring
29 people in what authorities described as a deliberate criminal act. But both
New
York Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said there was
no indication it was linked to international terrorism.
May God bless you now, and evermore!
