Stabbing victims tell their story, mall stabber sentenced to 15 years

The two victims of Mahad Abdiraham’s stabbing rampage at the Mall of America apologized for not being in court Friday for their assailant’s sentencing.

“I could not bring myself to be present,” Alex Sanchez told the court in a victim impact statement read by a county attorney’s victim advocate. “This ordeal has changed my whole life.”

Friday afternoon, Hennepin County District Court Judge Kerry Meyer handed down the agreed upon sentence sought by the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office. Abdiraham was sentenced to 103 months for the stabbing of Alex Sanchez and 84 months for stabbing his brother, to run consecutively, for 187 months or more than 15 years in prison.

Sanchez, who was 19 at the time of the Nov. 12 assault, was severely injured by Abdiraham. One stab wound to his left arm went to the bone, making it difficult for him to lift things. He was stabbed multiple times in the face.

“The scars on my face and my upper torso are so visible and people stare at me and I wonder what they think about me,” the victim advocate read. “Without my dad, my brother and my cousin, I don’t think I would be alive today.”

In his statement, Alex Sanchez also referenced Abdiraham’s statement when he pleaded guilty last month. Abdiraham said his attack was answering the call of Jihad and that no one in America will be safe.

“He wants to eliminate innocent Americans for a stupid belief,” Alex Sanchez said in his statement.

John Sanchez, who was 25 at the time of the attack, in his statement read by the advocate, said his injuries made it “a daily struggle,” because the brothers could not work, something they have always done. John Sanchez said he cannot bend one of his thumbs, making it difficult to grip anything. He also lamented the fact that his five-year-old son witnessed the violent attack and fears going to the mall.

“I want justice for my family and I want everybody to see this for what it is, a terror attack,” he wrote in his statement.

Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman called the sentence a good, long term for seriously injuring two people. Freeman said he pushed for the consecutive sentences so that he would spend a long time in prison and so that each victim could see they were getting individual justice.

“There has been statements that he was told by Allah to do this,” Freeman said. “It doesn’t matter to us what deity you believe in or no deity at all, if you seriously injure someone, we will prosecute you and, if successful, seek a long prison term.”

According to the victim impact statements and the criminal complaint, the Sanchez brothers and other family members had a tradition of going to the Mall of America on Sunday nights. They would eat dinner, see a movie or go shopping. On that evening, there were nine family members and they went with Alex to Macy’s to buy pants. As Alex emerged from the dressing room, Abdiraham was standing there with a large knife and began stabbing him. Alex shouted and his brother John, their father and a cousin came to the rescue and eventually subdued Abdiraham until police arrived.

Judge Meyer asked Abdiraham if he had anything to say. He said no. Judge Meyer told the family how sorry she was for their suffering and pronounced the sentence. The only thing she said to Abdiraham is what she said she tells all defendants: take advantage of the programs in prison “so you are able to make different decisions” once released.