During the attack, the assailant asked at least one person if it was Muslim before stabbing her, said at a press conference the chief of police in St. Cloud, Blair Anderson, the local media of this town situated a hundred kilometers northwest of Minneapolis.
But Anderson avoided talking about act of terrorism and said the motive for the attacks that occurred in the Crossroads Center is not yet known. "We're going to be diligent and get to the bottom of this" in an investigation that remains open, he added.
The attacker, who has been identified and it was only signed by police for traffic violations, entered the commercial center of this city of about 70,000 people on Saturday 20.15 (01.15 GMT).
He was dressed in the uniform of a private security company and was reduced by the shooting of a police officer out of service from another jurisdiction.
All the injured were taken to local hospital, but only one was admitted, according to sources at the medical center.
This incident occurred almost simultaneously with the explosion of a device of great power in New York that caused 29 wounded and hours after another explosion in the town of Seaside Park, in the state of New Jersey, which caused no casualties or damage serious .