by Tyler Fransen
On Nov. 28, 11 people on the Ohio State University campus were injured and three remain in critical condition after a suspect used his vehicle to run over bystanders and then stab others with a knife.
The FBI in Cincinnati is investigating this as a possible act of terrorism, although it appears to be an isolated incident. University Police Chief Craig Stone said that investigators were able to track the suspect’s vehicle movement and determine through his actions that he acted alone and was by himself in the vehicle.
The suspect was shot and killed on scene by local law enforcement. This fact, coupled with a campus-wide safety alert that read, “Active Shooter on campus. Run Hide Fight,” lead some to believe that the incident in question was a shooting.
This misunderstanding of the course of events was reiterated by many, including former vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine, who wrote on Twitter, “Deeply saddened by the senseless act of gun violence at Ohio state this morning.”
Abdul Razak Ali Artan was identified as the lone attacker. As investigators were searching for a possible motive, many revelations into Artan’s past were brought into the public eye, and are now at the forefront of a national conversation on safety and security.
Artan and his family were Islamic Somali refugees that came over to the U.S. in 2014. Islamic refugees have been a controversial topic politically about the Syrian refugee crisis and fears over refugees having possible ties to extremist groups in the Middle East.
President-elect Donald Trump tweeted after the incident, “ISIS is taking credit for the terrible stabbing attack at Ohio State University by a Somali refugee who should not have been in our country.”
On the other side is the Islamic community’s fear that Artan’s background may fuel anti-Islamic rhetoric and spark harassment. Horsed Noah, a director for an Islamic community center in Columbus, Ohio, was quoted in NPR and said, “I was with my wife, and I said, ‘I hope he [Artan] is not a Muslim.’”
At a community meeting at the center he directs, Noah was trying to address the fears and concerns shared by its members. In that same NPR interview, Noah said that his community was shocked much like the rest of the country.
While there is no evidence at this time that he was ever involved with any known terrorist groups, Artan may have been inspired by ISIS to carry out the attack. In a series of Facebook posts, Artan had made references to former Yemeni al-Qaeda leader Anwar al-Awlaki, and CNN noted that the style of attack carried out by Artan was encouraged in an ISIS online magazine.
ISIS made the claim that Artan was a soldier for them and essentially took credit for the attack. However, the special agent in charge of the Cincinnati FBI, Angela Byers, said ISIS usually takes credit, “after the assailant is deceased and cannot refute that. At this time, we are not aware of anyone else being involved in the planning of this attack, but the investigation continues.”
Months prior to the attack, Artan had been interviewed in the student newspaper “The Lantern” for a series called, “Humans of OSU” wherein he talks about his experience as a Muslim living in the U.S. In it, he says, “I wanted to pray in the open, but I was scared with everything going on in the media.” In that same piece Artan said, “If people look at me, a Muslim praying, I don’t know what they’re going to think, what’s going to happen.”
The investigation into Artan’s background and a search for a possible motive are ongoing.
