There was chaos this morning at The Ohio State University in Columbus where an 18-year old student drove a car through a crowd of faculty and students and then went on a stabbing spree with a butcher’s knife.
Officials have identified him as Abdul Artan, a Somali refugee who had U.S. residency status.
The attack happened mid-morning outside an engineering building, where students and teachers had been gathering following a fire alarm.
Senior Martin Schneider was among them and said Artan did not say anything as he got out.
“He looked pretty determined. He exited the car pretty fast,” Schneider said. “At first I thought it was a freak accident, you know maybe just the guy driving the car he had a seizure or something.”
It was the first day back following the Thanksgiving break and for nearly an hour and a half, the campus of nearly 60,000 students was on lockdown.
Many barricaded themselves in their rooms and posted on social media.
It was a campus officer who shot and killed Artan in a scene that began and ended in minutes.
“I heard like multiple gunshots,” witness Yoon Lee said. “I wasn’t sure if it was real or not, but as soon as I looked out the window, when I saw the scene, I knew it was really happening.”
At least 9 people were injured, one of them critically.
Police say Artan appeared to be acting alone. His motive is not known.