Police kill suspect after 8 stabbed at US mall

NEW YORK

A man wearing a private security company uniform stabbed eight people at a mall in Minnesota before being shot dead by an off-duty police officer, officials said Sunday.

Seven victims have been treated and released and one remains in the hospital, according to media reports.

St. Cloud Police Chief William Anderson said there was no evidence that the attack Saturday night was an act of terrorism.

"What we know is it is a lone suspect who attacked at least eight people," he said. "Whether that was a terrorist attack or not, I'm not willing to say that right now because we just don't know," he added.

The suspect reportedly asked at least one person if he or she were Muslim before the attack, according to witnesses quoted in the media.

A Daesh-run news agency, Rasd, reported Sunday that the terror group was taking responsibility for the attack, calling the perpetrator its "soldier".

The group encourages so-called lone wolf attacks in countries participating an anti-Daesh coalition led by the U.S.

St. Cloud is a city of 67,000 residents that is located 65 miles (105 kilometers) from the state’s largest metropolitan area, Minneapolis-St. Paul.