Ohio State University Attacker Identified as Somali Immigrant

A suspect has been identified in the Ohio State University attacks carried out on Monday. He was a student at the school and a Somali migrant.

The alleged attacker, Abdul Razak Ali Artan, was killed by police, but not before driving a car into a group of people and then attacking victims with a butcher’s knife, said Monica Moll, public safety director at Ohio State. FBI agents had joined local police in investigating the incident. Eleven people were injured; all are expected to survive

Artan was born in Somalia and living in the United States as a legal permanent resident. Investigators discovered a message he posted on a Facebook page before the attack in which he expressed anger about the treatment of Muslims around the world, according to reports from multiple news outlets, citing unidentified law enforcement officials.

Artan was enrolled at Columbus State Community College from the fall semester of 2014 through the summer semester of 2016, according to college spokesman Allen Kraus.

He graduated with an Associate of Arts degree in the spring of 2016 and then took a non-credit class for summer 2016. He had no record of behavioral or disciplinary issues during his time at Columbus State and graduated with honors, Kraus added.

Possible links to ISIS haven’t been ruled out in the case. Considering the origins of the attacker, federal investigators have been called in and terrorism is now being considered a key motive in the attack.

Source: USA Today