At 9:50 a.m. on Monday, November 28, there was an attack on the campus of Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio.  Abdul Razak Ali Artan, a Freshman at OSU, plowed his gray Honda Civic through a group of students outside one of the academic building, Watts Hall, only stopping because the car hit a concrete block.  Artan then got out of the car and stabbed students with a butcher knife.  The fire alarm at Watts Hall sounded moments before the attack took place due to a fluorine leak in a science lab.  Ohio State University police officer, Alan Horujko, got to the scene within two minutes and shot Artan when he failed to obey Horujko’s orders to drop his weapon.  The attack lasted less than two minutes with six people hit by the car and five stabbed; all are expected to survive.

The attacks were forms of aggression inspired by the Islamic State.  Artan moved to the United States in 2014 as a legal permanent resident.  He lived in Dallas, Texas for less than a month before moving to Columbus, Ohio to attend OSU.  He was a muslim that was interviewed by the Ohio State school newspaper, The Lantern, on his first day of school at OSU.  He said he was, “kinda scared,” to pray in public and since he was a muslim, he needed to pray five times a day.  Artan posted on facebook minutes before the attack saying, “he was disturbed by how Muslims were being treated everywhere.” according to CNN. FBI believe that he was alone in this act.  He was 18 and was shot in the head and chest by police.

The campus was put on lockdown for 90 minutes after the attack when they thought there was an active shooter.  Students who saw it happen said the scene was very chaotic; everyone was running and screaming everywhere.  Classes were resumed the next day, Tuesday, November 29.  On November 30, two days after the attacks, students, faculty and community members gathered in the St. John Arena on the OSU campus and had an event called, “#BuckeyeStrong.”  The president of the university, Dr. Michael V. Drake, spoke at the event.  He thanked the first responders for doing everything the way they were trained.  He also thanked the community for everything they did while things were still being figured out.

Colleges across the United States plan to revisit their emergency response plans because of this attack.  OSU is considering allowing concealed firearms on campus because students would feel safer with that option, but nothing has been decided yet.