Ohio State Univ Attacker Was Somalian, Spent 7 Years in Pakistan
Students should ‘run, hide, fight’, the tweet said.
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- A man rammed his car into a group of pedestrians and then attacked them with a butcher knife on the Ohio State University campus on Monday
- He was later shot dead by police
- At least 11 people were injured and hospitalised
- Police gave no immediate details on a possible motive for the attack
- The attacker, of Somali descent, was identified as Abdul Razak Ali Artan. He was living in the US as a legal permanent resident and was a student at the Ohio University
- Police said they are investigating whether it was a terrorist attack
Muslim Leaders Condemn Attack
Leaders of mosques and Muslim organisations in Ohio say they're heartbroken and strongly condemn an attack at Ohio State University that has left 11 people injured.
Attacker Was Student Of Ohio University
A US official has identified the suspect in the Ohio attack as a man of Somali descent while a director of public safety informed that he was a student at the Ohio State University.
The official identified Abdul Razak Ali Artan as the now-deceased suspect. He was born in Somalia and was living in the United States as a legal permanent resident. He came to the US two years ago and had lived in Pakistan for seven years prior to that. Artan temporarily lived in Dallas before settling in Ohio.
A second law enforcement official confirmed that authorities believe the suspect's name is Abdul Artan.
Unhappy with Media’s Portrayal of Muslims
Investigators are investigating whether the attack was an act of terror by Artan, who had once criticised the media for its portrayal of Muslims.
He also appears to have made an anti-US post on Facebook minutes before the attack, on a page that was quickly disabled or taken down by authorities, US media said.
Suspect Killed, Situation in Control
A suspect was reportedly killed in the shooting on Ohio State University campus that left at least 11 people injured. The situation is now secure, the college tweeted. All classes in the campus were cancelled for the rest of the day.
Eleven patients were admitted in hospitals. One is critical.
Sketchy Details
Although details about the incident are sketchy, two men with handcuffs were reported by a few. It is unclear, however, if they are suspects in the incident.
“I heard gunshots from my dorm, probably six or seven,”18-year-old Stephen Yunker told NBC News. “We saw fire trucks, couple of cars, and a body laying on the ground,” he added.
Another student told NBC News that she witnessed a car ram into a crowd of people.
“This car just swerved and ran into a whole group of people,” said Nicole Kreinbrink. “It hit a cop really bad.”
“All these people were running and screaming and yelling,” she added.
‘Run, Hide, Fight’
7 Taken to Hospital, 2 Stable
According to the Columbus Fire Department, seven victims were taken to a hospital after an active shooter was reported on the Ohio State University campus.
Two of those people are in stable condition, the department said. It had no information on the other five people. It was not immediately clear whether the shooting was still in progress.
Many police vehicles were at the scene. No other information was immediately available. With nearly 60,000 students at its main Columbus campus, Ohio State is one of the nation’s largest universities.
‘Active Shooter On Campus’
The emergency management department for Ohio State University reported an active shooter on campus around 10 am in Columbus, Ohio, on Monday. In a tweet, the alert urged students to “run, hide, fight” and take shelter.
“Run, hide, fight” is standard protocol for active shooter situations. It means: Run, evacuate if possible; hide, get silently out of view; or fight, as a last resort, take action to disrupt or incapacitate the shooter if your life is in imminent danger.
More details are awaited.
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