St. Cloud officials to release more details from mall stabbing investigation

Local and federal authorities are expected to release more details Thursday about the Sept. 17 stabbing attacks at a St. Cloud mall that left 10 people injured.

St. Cloud Mayor Dave Kleis, St. Cloud Police Chief Blair Anderson, Stearns County Attorney Janelle Kendall and FBI Special Agent in Charge Rick Thornton will discuss the investigation at a 10:30 a.m. news conference at St. Cloud Police headquarters.

Dahir Adan, a 20-year-old Somali refugee, was shot and killed by an off-duty police officer from a neighboring town after donning a security guard uniform and slashing his way through the mall with a pocket knife. Adan reportedly referred to Allah and asked at least one of the 10 victims whether they were Muslim, Anderson has said.

In the more than two weeks since, the St. Cloud community — including grief-stricken friends and family members who described Adan as a hardworking, studious young man — has waited to hear what motivated the attack and what led up to it.

Hours after the stabbings, a media agency for the Islamic State in Iraq and Levant (ISIL) took to Twitter to claim credit for the attacks. The next day, Anderson said authorities had not found evidence that Adan had been radicalized or had contact with terrorist groups.

But last week, FBI Director James Comey told a congressional committee that Adan might have been inspired in some way by a foreign terrorist group.

Jennifer Brooks • 612-673-4008