Ohio State University attack: What we know so far
A man was shot dead by police after mowing his vehicle into a crowd and stabbing several people
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A man was shot and killed by police at Ohio State University on Monday, after mowing down students with his vehicle and stabbing several others in attack that left at least nine victims in hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The university issued an alert shortly before 10am, warning of an "active shooter" and ordering anyone close to Watts Hall on the Columbus, Ohio campus to “run, hide, fight”. Emergency vehicles including SWAT vans raced to respond to the incident, which was over quickly, after a university police officer shot the lone suspect dead.
Police lifted the lockdown and declared the area secure around 90 minutes later.
Here’s what we know so far:
- At least nine people were injured in the attack and one suspect was shot dead. Eight of the victims were transported to hospitals in stable condition, while one was reportedly critical.
- The suspect was named as Abdul Razak Ali Artan, an 18-year-old Somali refugee, who had been living in the US for two years as a legal permanent resident after moving from Pakistan. He was a student at the university.
- The authorities have not identified a motive for the attack, but did not rule out the possibility that it might be terror-related. It was reported that the suspect left behind messages suggesting he was angry about hate crimes against Muslims in the US.
- An emergency tweet sent by the university alerted students to an “active shooter on campus”, but it remains unclear whether the suspect was armed with a gun.
- The incident took place near Watts Hall, a building near the centre of the campus where science and engineering classes take place.
- The suspect began his attack by driving his vehicle onto the curb outside the hall, running down a group of students. Some witnesses said a fire alarm had been set off inside the building beforehand, sending a crowd of people onto the pavement outside.
- The attack took place shortly before 10am local time. Alan Horujko, a 28-year-old university police officer, was on the scene within a minute and shot dead the suspect, authorities said.
- Ohio State University is 2.5 miles north of Columbus, the state capital. At 1,764 acres, it is the third-largest campus in the US, with almost 60,000 students.
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