ISIS wing claims responsibility for Minnesota mall attack

[GennGreymane]

http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/18/us/min...ing/index.html

(CNN)The man who stabbed nine people at a Minnesota mall Saturday before being shot dead by an off-duty police officer was a "soldier of the Islamic state," according to an ISIS-linked news agency.

ISIS claims 'soldier' who stabbed victims at mall

ISIS claims 'soldier' who stabbed victims at mall 00:47
The statement posted online Sunday by the Amaq agency follows a pattern of ISIS-related media claiming responsibility for what appear to be the acts of individuals across Europe in the past few months.

CNN cannot independently confirm this latest claim.

"We still don't have anything substantive that would suggest anything more than what we know already, which is this was a lone attacker," St. Cloud Police Chief William Blair Anderson told CNN's Jake Tapper Sunday. "And right now, we're trying to get to the bottom of his motivations."
The FBI is calling the attack "a potential act of terrorism."

Police and witnesses said the man, wearing a private security company uniform, entered Crossroads Mall on Saturday night around 8 p.m. ET, made a reference to Allah and asked at least one person if they were Muslim before he attacked.

St. Cloud Mayor Dave Kleis said three people remain hospitalized, including one person who is in a life-threatening condition.
Ashley Bayne, an employee of JCPenney at the mall, was visiting a coworker at the time of the incident.

"All of sudden chaos just broke out," she told CNN's Nick Valencia on Sunday. "There was a bunch of people running into the JCPenney mall entrance, and they were just screaming that someone was going around the mall stabbing people, and that there was blood everywhere. It was just honestly a really scary experience."

Bayne said she ran out to the parking lot and took off in her car.
The stabbings occurred in multiple locations inside the mall, including the common area and in several stores. The mall has security teams on site but they are not armed.

Police knew attacker
While the attacker was not identified, authorities said he'd had three previous encounters with police.
Anderson said most of the encounters were for minor traffic violations. None resulted in an arrest.

He's "clearly a hero"
The mayor and police chief praised Jason Falconer, an off-duty police officer from nearby Avon, for killing the suspect as the assailant threatened other people in the mall.

Falconer is a part-time officer for Avon and a former police chief of Albany, Minnesota, the officials said at a news conference Sunday afternoon. Both officials said they had viewed a surveillance tape from a Macy's store which revealed details of the confrontation.
"Officer Falconer was there at the right time at the right place," Mayor Kleis said.

"His heroic actions are exemplary of having witnessed what he did as the suspect was lunging at him with a knife. Not only did he fire, the suspect went down, came back up on three different occasions. He protected others from being injured and potentially loss of life. Clearly, a hero."

City changed forever
The police chief said two search warrants were executed at an address in St. Cloud, and the suspect's vehicle has been impounded.
Chief Anderson said the attack had changed the city forever. St. Cloud is about 65 miles northwest of Minneapolis and has a population of 67,000.

"Whenever something as awful as this happens, it's hard for things to be the same as they were," Anderson said.
The mall will reopen Monday.

"Honestly, last night once everything had happened it still felt unreal, it didn't seem like something that would happen at our mall," said Bayne, the JCPenney employee. "I've been a little shaky ... kind of been crying about it a little bit. But it's definitely something you think about after it happens ... It's really scary to think about and I'm ... just thankful to be alive."
Other attacks

The mall stabbing was one of several incidents reported nationwide Saturday.

In neighboring New Jersey, an explosion went off in a garbage can on the route of a Marine Corps charity run. Thousands of people were about to participate in the 5K race in Seaside Park. No injuries were reported.
CNN's Faith Karimi, Joe Sutton, Dani Stewart and Lonzo Cook contributed to this report

[NED funded]

I feel like ISIS is claiming responsibility for everything that is even remotely negative, despite not being related at all.

[GennGreymane]

I feel like ISIS is claiming responsibility for everything that is even remotely negative, despite not being related at all.

It does seem that way.

[PACOX]

0-3 over the weekend, they need to just take L before they get themselves hurt.

[Ghostpanther]

I feel like ISIS is claiming responsibility for everything that is even remotely negative, despite not being related at all.

It is related. They have called for all loyal Jihadist to carry out attacks globally in any countries involved in the coalition fighting them in Syria. The evidence is pretty clear it was a radical Islamic terrorist attack. Call it for what it was. I suspect more is coming. Sad to say.

[Moralgy]

I feel like ISIS is claiming responsibility for everything that is even remotely negative, despite not being related at all.

The lizardsquad of killing people.

[NED funded]

It is related. They have called for all loyal Jihadist to carry out attacks globally in any countries involved in the coalition fighting them in Syria. The evidence is pretty clear it was a radical Islamic terrorist attack. Call it for what it was. I suspect more is coming. Sad to say.

I'm not saying extremism is not related, but IIRC they also took responsiblity for the Orlando shooting, despite the subject pledging loyalty to all terrorist groups despite them being enemies.

[Sodia]

NOTHING to do with Islam !! OFC ....

[willtron]

I feel like ISIS is claiming responsibility for everything that is even remotely negative, despite not being related at all.

Because they're trying to stay relevant. It also works as good press for 'their people' as they actually have an effective media system and this works as propaganda for them and distracts from the ever looming forces closing in on Raqqa.

[Azadina]

I feel like ISIS is claiming responsibility for everything that is even remotely negative, despite not being related at all.

Of course they try to. They are desperate in their attempts at remaining a threat of some sort.

[TZucchini]

The truth is that ISIS is getting demolished in the Middle East. These lone wolf attacks, which were not funded or directed by ISIS, are really all they have left.

[Breccia]

Because they're trying to stay relevant. It also works as good press for 'their people' as they actually have an effective media system and this works as propaganda for them and distracts from the ever looming forces closing in on Raqqa.

I was about to ask "aren't they down to like one city?" when you edited this post. Yeah, ISIS woke the wrong dog. The rest of the world has more or less had it with them. They have nothing to gain from claiming these events, but they're desperate for anything remotely like a victory. Which this arguably wasn't.

[Blade Wolf]

At this point, ISIS would claim responsibility for my back pain. Anything bad happens in the world, it's ISIS. A puppy dies? ISIS.

[willtron]

I was about to ask "aren't they down to like one city?" when you edited this post. Yeah, ISIS woke the wrong dog. The rest of the world has more or less had it with them. They have nothing to gain from claiming these events, but they're desperate for anything remotely like a victory. Which this arguably wasn't.

They carry out their random attacks in foreign cities, whilst randomly gaining ground with huge fire power against militia armies. As soon as they came against a competent force who cut off their logistics and supplies, they were doomed.

[ParanoiD84]

Lol isis they will soon be done for, they are just looking for some attention trying to be relevant.

[Venant]

They carry out their random attacks in foreign cities, whilst randomly gaining ground with huge fire power against militia armies. As soon as they came against a competent force who cut off their logistics and supplies, they were doomed.

Are you talking about Russia?

[zenkai]

Lol isis they will soon be done for, they are just looking for some attention trying to be relevant.

They would just go underground and rebuild.

[ParanoiD84]

They would just go underground and rebuild.

Rebuild what exacly, they dont own shit, perhaps some destroyed towns at most. Of course they can still do lonewolf attacks in other places but they can never acually take anything outside the middleeast. They have only been a problem for the muslims and will continue to be just that if they ever pop out again. So it's up to the muslims to completely wipe them out on their homefield if they never want to see them again.

Now there is plenty of other groups to swith focus on though, and many new ones that have arrived in the syrian civil war, hopefully they will stay there.

[May90]

Pity ISIS hasn't claimed responsibility for my fruit fly infestation... I would know the source of the problem then!

[ParanoiD84]

Pity ISIS hasn't claimed responsibility for my fruit fly infestation... I would know the source of the problem then!

I dodged them this year, last year though it was world war 3 in my apartment against those suckers.