ST. CLOUD -- St. Cloud gained national spotlight early this fall after an act of terrorism hit the crossroads mall.

On September 17th, 20-year-old Dahir Adan dressed as a security guard, ran around the mall armed with two steak knives stabbing 10 people before he was killed by an off duty police officer.

Special Agent with the FBI Rick Thornton says Adan may have become radicalized recently and that the attack likely was premeditated. He says Adan ‘went from being a high achieving student with a lot of friends, to being withdrawn and flunking out of college almost overnight’.

"Adan became interested in the Islam. We were told he had not shown a previous interest in religion," says Thornton.

Thornton says interviewed at least 180 people in their investigation. Investigators were told that said Adan yelled “Islam, Islam” and “allahu akbar” during the attack.

Authorities also took an unusual step releasing video footage from the attack. Stearns County Attorney Janelle Kendall says this is something they would not normally do, but in the interest of transparency they decided to go ahead and release the video footage.

"This is all the video we have of Mr. Adan inside the mall and we are making available to the public," says Kendall.

Meanwhile, the attorney for the family of Adan says his relatives had no idea he expressed interest in Islam and that is “not the son they knew” and that it is beyond their understanding that he committed the crime.

Part-time Avon police officer Jason Falconer was the offer who shot and killed Adan that night. Kendall says no criminal action will be filed against officer Falconer.

"Video and physical evidence of the incident clearly show Officer Falconer was justified in the use of deadly force. Therefore, no criminal action will be filed," says Kendall.

Thirteen different agencies – 126 different people – responded to the Crossroads mall that night. Ninety-five separate 911 calls were made regarding the mall stabbings incident.

The case is completely in the hands of the FBI now.

Rebecca David, WJON News
Rebecca David, WJON News
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