Shopping mall locked down after mass stabbing injures eight in US

A person carried out a stabbing attack on Saturday at a mall in St. Cloud, Minnesota, injuring at least eight people before dying in the violent incident, officials said.

The attack at the Crossroads Mall about 97 km (60 miles) northwest of Minneapolis broke out shortly after 8 p.m. local time, St. Cloud police said in a statement.

Witnesses told media that they heard gunshots.

"We are confirming that the individual we believe to be responsible for the victims' stab wounds is currently deceased inside the mall," the police said.

Police later confirmed the suspect was killed, according to the St. Cloud Times.

A police spokesman could not be reached for further details.

The statement from police did not say exactly what type of weapon the suspect used in the stabbing spree.

Chris Nelson, a spokeswoman for St. Cloud Hospital, said eight patients were transported to the facility but none of them was believed to have life-threatening injuries.

Police said the victims transported to the hospital had been stabbed.

The motive for the stabbing attack was not immediately clear.