There were multiple reports of an active shooter on the campus of Ohio State University Monday morning, but as it turned out, it was a planned terrorist attack by a Somali refugee.
Shortly before 10 a.m., the suspect, reported in the age range between 18 and 20, jumped a curb with his car and plowed into pedestrians in front of Watts Hall at the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. When the vehicle came to a stop, the man leaped out and began a random stabbing spree with a butcher knife. Within a minute, a campus officer was on scene and neutralized the subject. It is reported that the Somali man lived nearby the campus, but it wasn't clear at first if he was an OSU student. He is described as a “legal permanent resident of the U.S.”
At least nine people were reported injured, one critical, including stab wounds and being struck by the car. OSU sent out an “active shooter” message to students just after the attack, telling them to “Run Hide Fight.” The shelter-in-place directive was lifted shortly after the scene was under control and the remainder of the day’s classes were canceled.
Initial reports included a second suspect, but now officials are saying the refugee acted alone.
From NBC News:
Law enforcement officials told NBC News the suspect's name is Abdul Artan, an 18-year-old student at the university. He was a Somali refugee who left his homeland with his family in 2007, lived in Pakistan and then came to the United States in 2014 as a legal permanent resident of the United States, officials said.
The motive was unknown, but officials said the attack was clearly deliberate and may have been planned in advance.
Here is, reportedly, a story on the suspect featured in the OSU campus newspaper The Lantern. Artan describes being nervous to pray on campus for fear of what other students might conclude by seeing a Muslim pray on campus. He blamed the media for painting a false picture of Muslims and putting the idea of violence into American's heads:
Developing...
Sources: Fox News, Daily Mail, CNBC
