Worthwhile Information Revealed in Video of Crossroads Mall Attack

Surveillance video of the Crossroads Mall stabbing attack and the shooting by Jason Falconer has revealed many previously unknown details.  They show that a determined attacker can absorb many hits before they are stopped.

The attacker used two kitchen knives.  The have about five inch blades, with smooth handles and small, smooth guards.  I wouldn't be surprised to find cuts on the attackers hands from his own blades.

A practical response at the Northwoods Candy Emporium illustrates the effectiveness of barriers against attackers with contact weapons.  An unnamed, quick thinking defender pulls down the gate to the store, denying the attacker access only two steps before he would have gained entry.  That portion of the video is very blurry, but the defender goes into a back room and comes out with something in his right hand.  It might be a personal defensive weapon.

We learn that Jason Falconer was approached by the attacker, and asked if he was a Muslim.  Falconer observed that the attacker had knives in his hands. The attacker came at him, and Falconer produced his weapon. The attacker fled, with Falconer pursuing. 

Link to video

(added content) Jason Falconer is the armed citizen who stopped the mass stabbing in the Crossroads Center Mall in St. Cloud, Minnesota, on Saturday evening, September 18th, 2016.  Falconer is competitive shooter, firearms instructor and CEO of Tactical Advantage.

Falconer is seen running after the attacker in Macy's.  The attacker turns down an aisle, then stops, and gets down on the floor.  He then jumps up and charges at Falconer.  Falconer fires and retreats, backing up at right angles to the attacker.  Just after Falconer fires another shot, and the attacker goes down, Falconer trips going backward, and falls down himself, eerily similar to Kim Woodman falling backward while firing on a charging brown bear earlier this year.

It isn't over yet.  Falconer gets back up, and displays his badge.  The attacker manages to regain his feet.  The two engage in a cat and mouse dance among the displays. It looks as if Falconer is expecting the attacker to go back down, but he keeps on moving.  Then in a grotesque, Monty Pythonesque attack, he comes at Falconer again.

Falconer is forced to backpedal as the attacker comes at him. The attacker spins around and comes at Falconer by fast walking backward at him.  Falconer is forced to shoot at least twice more.  It is easy to see how defenders may end up shooting attackers in the back.  This video is likely to be used in court in many future shooting defenses.

If you only look at still shots from that sequence, it appears as if Falconer is pursuing the attacker and shooting him as he runs away.  The exact opposite is happening.  The attacker is advancing backward, and Falconer is retreating as he is firing.  It is a good example of how images can fool the eye.

In total, we are told that Falconer hit the attacker six times.  The attacker died of exsanguination (bleeding out).

The caliber, make and model of Falconer's pistol has not become available yet.  The blocky outline in the top screenshot looks very Glockish to me.

©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
Link to Gun Watch