Law enforcement has identified the terrorist who stabbed nine people in St. Cloud, Minnesota this weekend as a 22-year-old Somali-American who once worked as a security guard. Dahir Adan died when an off-duty policeman shot him repeatedly as Adan tried to keep stabbing, shouting “Allahu akbar!” and reportedly demanding to know the religion of his victims. Despite this and a claim of responsibility from ISIS, the police chief told the media that they’re still not sure of Adan’s motivations:

Dahir A. Adan, 22 , has been identified as the man who stabbed nine people at a Minnesota mall Saturday before being shot dead by an off-duty police officer, according to two Somali community leaders in Minnesota who are in direct contact with the Adan’s family. Federal law enforcement sources also confirmed Adan’s name to CNN. …

The man, whom local media reports said was of Somali descent, stabbed nine people at the Minnesota mall before being shot dead by an off-duty police officer. The following day the Amaq agency posted a statement online, the latest in a series of ISIS-related media outlets claiming responsibility for purported attacks carried out by individuals across Europe and beyond this year.

CNN cannot independently this latest claim. Likewise, St. Cloud Police Chief William Blair Anderson told CNN Sunday he was unable to confirm if the mall stabbings were anything more than a lone attack.

“Right now, we’re trying to get to the bottom of his motivations,” Anderson said.

Come on, man. It’s good to keep one’s options open; it’s another to micturate on everyone from on high and ponder aloud about the nature of precipitation.

The CNN report itself — the written report, not the clip above — is another marvel, making the story about everything else but the terrorist attack. Paragraph after paragraph of quotes appear in the article about religion of peace, worries about backlash, members of the Somali community worried that their families may have been victimized, before it actually gets to the attacks. It barely mentions that Adan demanded to know the religion of his victims, noting only that he “made a reference to Allah” and “asked at least one person if they were Muslim.” That sounds rather … polite, no? Well, except for the whole attempted-mass-murder thing.

The big story here isn’t the “potential for backlash.” It’s the terrorist attack that nearly took nine or more lives in the sleepy community of St. Cloud. Maybe other outlets will focus on the real story.

Addendum: Hey, here’s another story that the media have missed:

USPSA Shooter,  3-Gunner, and NRA-certified firearms instructor Jason Falconer has been identified as the man who shot and killed a 22-year-old Somali immigrant who went on a stabbing rampage inside a St. Cloud, (MN) Mall on Saturday.

The apparent terrorist—who apparently asked victims if they were Muslims before stabbing them—was engaged by Falconer inside the mall.

Falconer is the president and owner of Tactical Advantage LLC, a shooting range and tactical training facility with a strong focus on arming concealed carriers. He’s also a former chief of the Albany (MN) police department, and he remains a part-time officer.

But Falconer has consistently been identified in the mainstream mediaonly as as a “former police chief” and  “off-duty police officer.”

Bob Owens writes that “It’s also most like the media is attempting to cover up the fact that creating and training armed citizens is a major part of Falconer’s life.” Go figure.