Random Rochester Stabber Found Not Guilty Due to Mental Illness

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Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - The man responsible for an unprovoked knife attack on a woman who was out for a walk in southeast Rochester last fall has been acquitted of attempted murder and assault charges.

An Olmsted County judge today ruled there was not enough evidence to convict 27-year-old Abdulkadir Mohamed Ali of a second-degree attempted murder count and acquitted him of a second-degree assault charge due to mental illness. The order indicates Ali will remain in custody pending civil commitment proceedings.

The criminal complaint says the 25-year-old victim, who did not know Ali, was walking near the intersection of 8 1/2 Street and 15th Avenue Southeast in the early evening of September 15th, 2023, when she was stabbed in the back. The court document indicates the woman suffered multiple stab wounds before a motorist who witnessed the assault stopped and Ali fled on foot.

Rochester police say Ali reported the stabbing to 911 dispatchers as he fled from the crime scene and ran south toward Cub Foods. The responding officer found him outside the grocery store next to a knife on the ground and Ali admitted stabbing the woman and stated that the knife was his.

Court records say Ali indicated to the officers that he suffered from schizophrenia and had been thinking of stabbing someone or running over them with the vehicle for the previous couple of months.

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