ISIS has claimed credit for a stabbing attack at a Minnesota mall Saturday night that left eight wounded, and the attacker dead.
“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,” a statement on the ISIS news service Amaq said.
The attack occurred at a St. Cloud, Minn. mall, one witness described the stabber running from store to store. He was wearing a private security guard uniform, and was eventually shot dead by an off-duty police officer. The attacker has been identified as Dahir Adan, a Somali, who was a junior at St.Cloud State University. Adan worked part-time as a security guard.
The St.Cloud, Minn. police chief said that the attacker made “references” to Allah and asked at least one victim if they were Muslim. The stabbing attack came on the same day as a pipe bomb explosion at a Marine Corps benefit race in New Jersey that left none wounded and an explosion in New York City that left 29 wounded. There were unexploded bombs found by police in both New Jersey and New York City.