Ohio State University student, Abdul Razak Ali Artan, carried out a knife attack on campus on Monday afternoon, hospitalizing 11. Artan was also killed by police officer during his attack.
Originally living in Somali, Artan moved to Pakistan in 2007, then to the United States as a legal immigrant in 2014. Artan was a transfer from Columbus State, and was afraid of openly praying as a Muslim on campus. Artan voiced his concern over the persecution of Muslims in the United States on his Facebook page. He made statements saying, “By Allah, we will not let you sleep unless you give peace to the Muslims. You will not celebrate or enjoy any holiday.”
Artan began his attack at 9:52 in the morning, striking a group of students with his car on a sidewalk outside Watt’s Hall, then exiting and attacking the students with a knife. He was shot three times by Alan Horujko, an Ohio State Police Officer before ultimately dying. He was reportedly silent during the attacks and shots being fired at him.
While it is unknown if Artan was a part of a radical ideology group, his religious denomination and voiced opinions on Facebook seem to be associated with this violence. This tragic event increases tensions in the country’s relations with Muslims along with the most recent election that voted Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States.