A man and his pregnant girlfriend who were attacked by a knife-wielding assailant inside a Minnesota mall were in "complete shock" during the rampage that is being investigated as an act of terrorism.
Isaiah Mordal, 22, was walking out of the Crossroads Center mall with his girlfriend, Johanna Bohnenkamp, who is nearly nine months pregnant, when they encountered a man with a knife, according to the Star Tribune.
The attacker, later identified as 22-year-old Dahir Adan, lunged for Mordal after the couple witnessed him stab a woman and her companion with a 4- to 5-inch-long blade.
"I was in complete shock," Mordal told the newspaper of the attack at the St. Cloud mall on Saturday that left 10 people injured.
"He had me trapped in a corner. He stood about 10 feet away with his knife in the air ... I said, ‘Don’t do this! My girlfriend is pregnant!’ At that point it seemed like it was going extremely fast, but at the same time, it seemed like it took forever,” he said.
Adan slashed Mordal's right shoulder before chasing Bohnenkamp as she ran inside the mall, the Star Tribune reported.
Adan caught up with Bohnenkamp and grabbed her by the neck and shoulders, according to the couple. It was then that Mordal -- with blood gushing from his shoulder -- yelled out, ‘Don’t you touch her, she’s pregnant!’ ” according to the paper.
“He was ready to stab her and he turned and looked at me. I think that put his aim off," Mordal said.
The blade grazed Bohnenkamp's neck before Adan turned and ran farther into the mall, Mordal told the paper. That's when Mordal decided to alert others.
"As soon as I found out she was OK, something clicked in my head,” Mordal told the paper. “I thought of all the people in the mall and knew I had to do something to help those people. I whipped my shirt off because I was soaked in blood."
An injured Mordal then chased Adan through the mall, yelling for people to get away and call 911, according to the Star Tribune.
Adan, wearing a private security uniform, cut or stabbed 10 people before he was shot and killed by an off-duty police officer.
Adan reportedly referred to Allah and asked at least one other victim if they were Muslim during the rampage.
An FBI official said Sunday that Saturday night's attack is being viewed as a possible act of terrorism. None of the victims' injuries were considered life-threatening.