Ohio State University Under Attack

Kevin Payravi

This sign was left outside of Watts Hall in dedication of the Ohio State University attack.

Ohio State University rocked by what was thought to be gunshots.

On Monday at Ohio State University there were reports of an active school shooter.

The attacker, Abdul Razak Ali Artan, was born in Somalia and was a legal permanent citizen of the United States. He was an honors student and a graduate from a community college in Ohio. Investigators found a facebook post before the attack in which he expressed his anger on the treatment of Muslims around the world. One of his post said, “If you want us Muslims to stop carrying [out] lone wolf attacks, then make peace…”

“America! Stop interfering with other countries, especially the Muslim Ummah. We are not weak. We are not weak, remember that,” Artan said on Facebook, “Every single Muslim who disapproves of my actions is a sleeper cell, waiting for a signal. I am warning you Oh America!”

At 9:56 a.m. on Monday, The OSU Emergency Management Twitter (@OSU_EMFP) first tweeted “Buckeye Alert: Active shooter on campus. Run Hide Fight. Watts Hall. 19th and College.”

The emergency management Twitter then kept telling people on campus to take shelter in the north campus area. The students were also told to be observant, to take action as needed and to stay in shelter. Students were told to wait for the police officer’s directions and to contact the police if they had any information.

At 3:09 p.m. students were told that all buildings were open for them to get their personal items except Student Academic Services.

Artan drove a car into a group of people and then attacked the victims with a butcher’s knife. Eleven people were taken to the hospital and one was in critical condition. However, they were all expected to survive.

“I could tell he was very angry,” Army veteran and attack victim, Anderson Payne, told World News Tonight, “He turned and went to swing the knife at me and I reached up with my left hand and I grabbed the blade so that it couldn’t hit me and that gave me enough time to duck under his arm and make my way back into the building to get away from him.”

The violence left 11 people injured before police officer Alan Horujko shot and killed Artan on Monday.

“Together we remain unified in the face of adversity,” was captioned on a picture @OhioState tweeted late Monday night.

Michael Drake, President of OSU, tweeted on Tuesday morning, “Today we move forward, unified, secure and #BuckeyeStrong.”

All of the classes on the Columbus campus would resume to normal schedule on Tuesday, November 29.