Somali community braces for possible backlash after mall stabbings.
ST. CLOUD, Minn.— Leaders of Minnesota’s large Somali community acknowledged the prospect of a “long winter” for their people in the wake of the weekend’s mall stabbings by a young Somali man but warned Monday not to quickly accept the terrorism connection.
Authorities are treating Saturday’s stabbings, which wounded nine people at Crossroads Center Mall, as a possible act of terrorism, in part because an Islamic State-run news agency claimed that the attacker was a “soldier of the Islamic State” who had heeded the group’s calls for attacks in countries that are part of a U.S.-led antiISIS coalition.
But it wasn’t immediately known whether the extremist group had planned the attack or knew about it beforehand. St. Cloud Police Chief Blair Anderson said the attack appeared to be the work of a single individual and there was no sign that the attacker, identified by his father as 22-year-old Dahir Adan, was radicalized or communicated with any terrorist group.
‘Real facts’ needed
President Barack Obama said the stabbings had no apparent connection to weekend bombings in New York and New Jersey.
“We cannot give ISIS and other terrorist organizations more air time and propaganda without real facts,” said Jaylani Hussein, executive director of the Council on AmericanIslamic Relations’ Minnesota chapter.
An off-duty police officer stopped the minuteslong attack Saturday night by shooting and killing Adan. Federal officials released no new information on the investigation Monday.
Minnesota has the nation’s largest Somali population, an estimated 57,000 people. Both Anderson and Gov. Mark Dayton warned against a possible backlash due to the stabbings, especially in St. Cloud, where Somalis in the 65,000-resident city about 65 miles northwest of Minneapolis have spoken about mistreatment in the past.
“I implore the citizens of St. Cloud and the citizens of Minnesota to rise above this incident and remember our common humanity,” Dayton said.
Somali leaders planned an evening news conference to urge unity.
“It’s going to be tough times. We know it’s going to be a long winter for this community,” said Haji Yusuf, who is part of OneCloud, a local group founded to tackle racial and ethnic tension in the city.
Had been a student
Little is known about Adan, who wore a private security uniform during Saturday’s attack, was employed by the security firm Securitas, and was assigned for a few months to an Electrolux factory near the mall, Electrolux spokeswoman Eloise Hale said.
A spokesman for St. Cloud State University confirmed that Adan was a student majoring in information systems, but hadn’t enrolled since the spring semester.
Anderson has said the man began attacking people right after entering the mall, stabbing people in several spots. The victims included seven men, one woman and a 15-year-old girl.