VideoVideo related to st. cloud minnesota crossroads mall mass stabbing: 5 fast facts you need to know 2016-09-17T22:34:07-04:00

As the nation’s eyes were focused on the explosion in Manhattan, nine people were stabbed at the Crossroads Center Mall in the American heartland by a suspect in a private security uniform who referenced Allah and asked at least one victim if he was Muslim.

The above details were outlined by the St. Cloud police chief in a midnight news conference on the September 17 mass stabbing, which occurred in a central Minnesota community of about 67,000 people in an area usually isolated from terrorism concerns. On September 18, the stabber was identified by Minnesota newspapers as Dahir Adan, an African immigrant and member of the local Somali community who is aidentified himself as a police officer before opening fire.

You can read the first St. Cloud police news release here:

Exact injuries of those stabbed were not clear, but The St. Cloud Times said five people were released from the hospital by Sunday morning, and “three were admitted with injuries that were not life-threatening.” Authorities added a ninth victim to the tally, but they said all are expected to survive.

The Somali community in Minnesota has condemned the attack, said ABC News. Minnesota started seeing waves of Somali refugees in the early 1990s. CBS local says local charity groups and strong benefits helped attract Somali immigrants to Minnesota.

The Somali museum of Minnesota says the state is home to the United States’ largest Somali diaspora. In July three Somali immigrants were convicted