20-Year-Old Stabbed Pair Of Brothers At Mall Of America: Charges

A Minneapolis man was charged with two counts of first-degree assault in the stabbing of two shoppers at the Mall of America, Hennepin County District Attorney Mike Freeman announced Tuesday.

Mahad Abdiraham, 20, was charged with causing “great bodily harm” to a 19-year-old man and his 25-year-old brother in the Sunday evening stabbing. He is expected to make his first court appearance Wednesday.

According to the criminal complaint, the younger brother had come to Macy’s with eight family members to do some shopping. After trying on a pair of pants, he came out of the dressing room to find Abdiraham was holding a large knife, police said. As the victim tried to go past him, Abdiraham began slashing, according to authorities.

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 him screaming and the 25-year-old went to his rescue with another family member. He tried 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.

The victims and witnesses were able to subdue Abdiraham and take away the knife, which had an eight-inch blade, the complaint states. Last year, Abdiraham was arrested for stabbing two staff members with a pen at an inpatient psychiatric unit, according to authorities.

Photo credit AP Photo/Jim Mone, File