Students and staff alike at the Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, had serious reason to fear for their safety on Monday, Nov. 28. Why? Eighteen-year-old Abdul Razak Ali Artan, a freshman on campus, went on a sudden car and knife rampage at around 9:40 AM. His plan? To kill. Who was this young man, though? Why did he commit such a crime? What were his motives, and what really happened on the day of the attack? The answers to these questions and more are as follows…

Shortly after Monday’s attack, information on Artan and his possible motives were released to the public through various forms of communication, including online editions of MSN, CNN, USAToday, and The Washington Post. According to one of these articles, written by Max Blau, Emanuella Grinberg, and Shimon Prokupecz of CNN.com: “Artan was profiled in the school’s student-run newspaper’s “Humans of Ohio State” series in August. He had just transferred from Columbus State and said he was struggling to find a place to pray in peace on the large campus.”

You see, Artan was a Muslim refugee born in Somalia in the late 1990s. He and his family lived there until 2007 when they fled to Pakistan, and remained living happily in their new home for about four years time. Back in 2014, though, the family went on a journey of over 7,000 miles to reach their newest destination: the United States. Upon their arrival to the U.S, Artan and his family lived in Dallas, TX, but soon thereafter moved to Columbus, OH likely because of its “large and vibrant community of Somali expats.”(www.washingtonpost.com)

In addition to Artan’s personal background, his motives for the attack are clearly an important issue to be discussed, as well. Limited information on the matter involving reasoning has been released thus far, but, in an article posted Tuesday on CNN.com,”Despite claims from the Islamic State’s purported media wing that Artan was an ISIS soldier, there is no indication so far that Artan communicated with any terror group; evidence points to a lone wolf attack.” Though religious affiliation is the suspected motivation behind the car crash and stabbing, the true reason behind the attack is currently unknown.

Despite there being finite released evidence of Artan’s true motives, his Facebook page has been providing beneficial clues to officials. On the day of the attack, he posted the following message: “By Allah, we will not let you sleep unless you give peace to the Muslims. You will not celebrate or enjoy any holiday.”

Finally, what truly occurred on the day of the attack? According to an article written on www.rt.com, “The incident began when a car rammed into people outside of Watts Hall…The driver got out of the car, armed with a butcher knife and began attacking the group, OSU officials said in an afternoon press conference.” Eleven people were injured and hospitalized, but not before Alan Horujko, a police officer at OSU, shot and killed Artan. The attack lasted for a total of about two minutes.

Monday, Nov. 28 was a tough day for witnesses and those affected by the attack, and it is likely that further investigation will occur within the coming days. Especially now, it is important for those on and off campus to support each other through this frightening time and to stay #BuckeyeStrong!