Tuesday, September 20, 2016

FBI's Terrorism Task Force Investigating Minnesota Mall Stabbing

Dave Schwarz/St. Cloud Times via AP

The FBI announced Tuesday its Joint Terrorism Task Force will lead the investigation into a stabbing rampage in a Minnesota mall that left 10 people injured over the weekend.

The stabbings happened Saturday night at the Crossroads Center in St. Cloud, Minnesota. Investigators identified the suspected attacker as Dahir Adan, 20, whom ISIS-linked media claimed as one of their supporters.

An off-duty officer with the Avon Police Department, Jason Falconer, who also operates a firearms range, shot and killed Adan at the mall. Officials, including President Obama, have praised Falconer for his actions.

FBI spokesman Kyle Loven told BuzzFeed News on Tuesday that his agency's Joint Terrorism Task Force had taken over the investigation into the incident, with St. Cloud police providing a support role.

According to Loven, the investigation was handed over to the FBI because it is "particularly specialized" in doing "comprehensive and thorough" investigations of such incidents.

Dahir Adan

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Loven described the investigation as active, but did not provide new details about what investigators have learned.

Witnesses told authorities that Adan made references to Allah during the attack and asked one person if they were Muslim.

During a news conference Monday, St. Cloud Police Chief Blair Anderson said "we haven’t uncovered anything that would suggest other than a lone attacker at this point."

President Obama told reporters on Monday that authorities did not believe there was any link between the Minnesota attack and the weekend's bombings in New York and New Jersey.

Family members told the Star Tribune that Adan is Somali, was born in Kenya, and was a student at St. Cloud State University.

He had previously worked as a security guard assigned to a warehouse near the mall where the attack took place.

LINK: ISIS Claims Supporter Responsible For Stabbing 9 At Minnesota Shopping Mall

LINK: Man Who Stabbed 10 People In Minnesota Mall Is Identified



from BuzzFeed - USNews http://ift.tt/2cPJ5g7

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