According to CNN reported on the 18th that on Sunday local time, Amaq News Agency, which is related to the extremist religious organization "Islamic State" (ISIS), issued a statement saying that the attacker who stabbed nine people with a knife and killed nine people in a mall in St. Cloud, Minnesota, the previous day, was "an ISIS fighter."

This is consistent with the terrorist group's response pattern after a series of ISIS attacks in Europe over the past few months, but CNN said it could not confirm whether the latest statement was true.

"What we know so far is that this was a lone wolf attack, and we have no substantial evidence to provide any more information than that," William Blair Anderson, chief of the St. Cloud, Minnesota, police department, told CNN. "Currently, we are trying to explore his deeper motives." ”

The FBI called the attack "a possible act of terrorism."

Police and witnesses said that at about 8pm local time on Saturday, the man entered the Crossroads mall in the area wearing a private security company uniform, mentioned Allah, and then asked at least one victim if he was a Muslim before the attack. St. Cloud Mayor Dave Kleis said three people are still hospitalized, including one with life-threatening injuries.

The nine attacks occurred in different places within the mall, including public areas and several stores. The mall had security personnel but they were unarmed.

The person who shot him was Jason Falconer, an off-duty police officer who happened to be at the scene. At a press conference on Sunday afternoon, Dave Kleis and police praised him as a "hero." "Officer Falconer was in the right place at the right time," Dave Kleis said. The mayor says when the suspect pulled a knife on Jason FalCone stabbed, he shot and knocked down the suspect, and surveillance video also showed that he was still protecting other people at the scene from harm.

The Minnesota attack was just one of three in the United States that day. At around 8:30 pm on Saturday, an explosion occurred near 23rd Street and 6th Avenue in Chelsea, New York City, injuring 29 people. Prior to this, an explosion occurred along the route of a charity run in New Jersey, causing no casualties. "The New York Times" stated that the explosive equipment used in the two incidents contained the same materials, and the authorities were investigating whether the attackers were the same person or group of people. No terrorist organization has yet claimed responsibility for the two attacks.