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MPR News Staff
St. Paul

Man charged in Mall of America stabbings

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Mahad Abdirahman
Mahad Abdiaziz Abdiraham, 20, is the suspect in the stabbing of two men at the Mall of America on Nov. 12, 2017.
Courtesy of the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office

Hennepin County prosecutors on Tuesday charged a Minneapolis man with two counts of felony first-degree assault in the Sunday night stabbings of two shoppers at the Mall of America.

Mahad Abdirahman, 20, was charged with causing great bodily harm to a 19-year-old man and his 25-year-old brother. Abdiraham is expected to make his first court appearance Wednesday.

The criminal complaint says the 19-year-old had come to the mall's Macy's store with his family to shop. He was trying on some pants and walked out of the dressing room. When he returned to the dressing room, Abdiraham was nearby.

"The victim went into the fitting room, changed clothes and tried to come out. When the victim came out, Abdirahman was holding a large knife," the Hennepin County Attorney's Office said. "As the victim tried to go past him, Abdirahman began slashing. The victim received multiple cuts across his face, head and the back of his arms, with some of the latter cuts going to the bone."

His family heard the screams and rushed to help. The victim's 25-year-old brother went to grab the knife and wound up with cuts to his hands and back. Doctors needed 42 stitches to close the wounds in the back. The younger victim needed a blood transfusion and will have permanent scars to his head, the complaint states.

Victims and witnesses subdued Abdirahman and took away the knife, which had an 8-inch blade, according to the complaint.

Prosecutors said last year Abdirahman was arrested and charged for stabbing two staff members with a pen at an in-patient psychiatric unit.

Correction: (Nov. 15, 2017): Mahad Abdirahman's name was misspelled in a previous version of this story. The story has been updated.