Man stabs eight at Minnesota mall, killed by police officer

At least eight people were taken to a hospital with injuries after a stabbing attack at a Minnesota shopping mall that ended with the suspected attacker, who reportedly made references to Allah, shot dead by an off-duty police officer, authorities said.

The incident at the Crossroads Centre mall in St. Cloud, a community about 60 miles (97 km) northwest of Minneapolis-St. Paul, occurred at around 8 p.m. local time as the mall was bustling with shoppers, St. Cloud Police Chief William Blair Anderson told reporters.

“It's an awful day, honestly, we've got eight victims that were assaulted here in our mall,” Anderson told reporters at a midnight news conference.

The eight people were transported to St. Cloud Hospital but none were believed to have life-threatening injuries, said Chris Nelson, a communications specialist for the medical facility.

Anderson said the suspect acted alone.

"Whether that was a terror attack or not, I'm just not going to say because we just don't know," he said.

No further details were released.

Anderson said an off-duty police officer from another jurisdiction shot and killed the unidentified suspect. He did not say where that officer serves.

During the news conference, Anderson said the attacker, who was armed with a knife, reportedly made references to Allah during the attack and asked at least one person whether they were Muslim.

But Anderson declined to call the attacks an act of terrorism, saying the motive for the attacks is not known yet. “We will be diligent and get to the bottom of this,” Anderson said.