A man, identified as Abdul Razak Ali Artan, 18, was shot dead by police after he jumped out of his car and stabbed several people on the campus of Ohio State University this morning, the Associated Press reports.
According to police reports, he veered his car off the road near Watts Hall just before 10 AM. Located near the center of the Columbus campus, Watts Hall houses the university’s materials science and engineering programs. Witnesses say he hit several people with his car and then attacked several others with a knife. Police arrived and an officer shot him dead within about a minute, but the campus was alerted via the Emergency Management Twitter feed:
Buckeye Alert: Active Shooter on campus. Run Hide Fight. Watts Hall. 19th and College.
— OSU Emergency Mngmnt (@OSU_EMFP) November 28, 2016
“I saw a bunch of people running, and when they were running, they were screaming and yelling,” the New York Times quoted one student as saying, who scrambled to a residence hall for shelter. “And then all of a sudden, I heard four or five gunshots.”
Eleven students were injured in the attack and transported to local hospitals, according to news reports. All sustained non-life-threatening injuries, although one was listed in critical condition.
Mr Artan was born in Somalia and was living in the US as a legal permanent resident, according to wire reports. He was a first-year student at the university.
Once the attack began, students ran for cover and found ways to stay safe and keep the attacker away, including barricading themselves into classrooms:
I'm safe in a barricaded room. If you're on campus, get in a room and stay safe. pic.twitter.com/Gaw7gjTx6w
— Harrison Roth (@goisles29) November 28, 2016
