BY HANNAH DEAR (‘17)

NEWS EDITOR

An armed suspect jumped the curb and violently attacked Ohio State University students on Monday morning.

“A lot of it happened really fast. The alerts came out, and I had no idea what was happening or where at first,” OSU freshman and former Granville student Mara Dunning said.

The initial OSU emergency alert read “Run Hide Fight” emphasizing the importance of distancing oneself from the situation.

“We were ushered into lockdown for over ninety minutes leaving us all both confused and nervous,” another OSU freshman and former Granville student Sarah Charlton said.

The attack occurred next to Watts Hall and one of the college dorms.

“For the moment I’m pretty shaken up due to the fact that the event took place so close to where I live,” Dunning said.

There were initial reports saying that there was a shooter. However, news reports later clarified that no gunshots were fired and all injuries were the result of stab wounds.

“Authorities identify suspect in Ohio State attack as Abdul Ryazan Ali Artan, an 18-year-old student at the university,” as reported in a CNN tweet.

Artan was also identified as a Somali Muslim who had previously attended Columbus State before transferring to OSU.

“Facebook page believed to belong to Ohio State attacker had grievances about attack son Muslims, authorities say,” according to the CNN Breaking News Twitter.

Other sources quote Artan as saying that he could not pray in public because people feared the Muslim community as the result of terrorist attacks. Whether this is directly correlated with his actions on Monday is not yet confirmed.

Artan’s “knife attack that wounded 11 people” has shaken up the OSU campus.

“To see images and videos on the national news of paths we walk each and every day is nothing short of a jarring experience,” Charlton said.

The suspect was shot by an officer making him the only fatality in the attack.

“Ohio State University officials credit Officer Alan Horujko, who fatally shot suspect before he could hurt others,” as reported by CNN Twitter.

This attack brings up the question of the safety of college campuses.

“I know in the long run that OSU is a safe campus, especially with how quickly the responders responded,” Dunning said.

Because of the attack, some OSU students feel more satisfied with their campus safety now.

“In a society where massacres are seemingly commonplace on national media, I am proud that I am attending an institution that is well-equipped to handle any incident,” Charlton said.

Despite the lack of fatalities, the community remains shaken after the attack.

“For most of us, it served as a reminder that distant news stories of violent actions committed on school property can quickly hit close to home,” Charlton said. “It was a grim reality check that will undoubtedly impact the Buckeye psyche for the coming days and months.”