COLUMBUS – Federal and local authorities say the 18-year-old Somali-born man who drove his car through a crowd of pedestrians on the OSU campus Monday, then attacked them with a knife, may have been inspired by an American-born Islamic cleric, but it is difficult to say how much and too early to describe the attack as an act of terrorism.
Officials with the FBI, Columbus Division of Police, Ohio State University and the U.S. attorney’s office who briefed members of the media Wednesday afternoon said Abdul Razak Ali Artan, whose car-and-knife attack ended with 12 people injured and Artan dead, may have been inspired by former al-Qaeda leader Anwar al-Awlaki, slain by the U.S., or by the Islamic State group.
Authorities updated provided an update on their investigation and released information about victims and recordings of calls to 911 the morning of the attack:
“We believe he may have been inspired by Anwar al-Awlaki or ISIL [an acronym by which Islamic State is known] but they have been known to take credit for incidents like this when the assailant is deceased and cannot refute that,” said Angela Byers, special agent in charge of the FBI;’s Cincinnati Division, which includes Columbus.
“That makes it pretty easy for them,” she said.
Byers also said investigators had not determined if Artan’s attack rose to meet the legal definition of “domestic terror,” described by the bureau’s website as an act of violence that is dangerous to human life, violate federal or state law, appear intended to “intimidate or coerce a civilian population, influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination or kidnapping.” or to retaliate against government conduct.
“It’s too early to draw any type of conclusions whether or not this is terrorism,” Byers said. “We have a long road to go in the investigation, we have lots of evidence and lots of digital media to go through and that could uncover a trove of information for us.”
The FBI executed a search warrant on the West Side apartment where Artan lived, seizing computers and other electronic devices, but Artan shared the home with other people and Byers could not say which devices belonged to Artan.
Columbus police, meanwhile, searched the car Artan used in the attack, which was registered to his brother, Byers said.
Artan attended a local mosque but leaders there say they don’t remember him and Ohio State’s Muslim and Somali student groups say he wasn’t affiliated with their organizations.
Reportedly, Artan had posted complaints about how Muslims were treated on campus and U.S. involvement in foreign conflicts before the attack.
Artan drove his car into a group of pedestrians outside Watts Hall on the OSU campus, then got out of the vehicle and began slashing bystanders with a large knife before he was shot to death by university police officer Alan Horujko when Artan refused to drop the knife.
The Columbus Division of Police is investigating the shooting and the findings will be presented to Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien, whose policy in past officer-involved shootings has usually been to forward those findings to a grand jury, said Deputy Chief Richard Bash, of the Columbus police Investigative Subdivision.
Meanwhile, Hrujko remains on administrative leave.
“Given the circumstances, he’s in good spirits. I continue to be impressed with his humility and his concern for the victims,” university public safety director Monica Moll said.
A preliminary autopsy released Wednesday by Franklin County Coroner Anahi Ortiz shows that Artan was shot in the head and chest but, according to a report in The Columbus Dispatch, does not say how many times he was shot. The report also doesn’t include toxicology and other tests that could take eight weeks or more.
Columbus Police Deputy Chief Michael Woods, who oversees the Homeland Security unit, said Artan bought a knife that morning at a West Side Walmart, but it is unclear if that was the same knife used in the attack.
Authorities are trying to fill in a gap in their knowledge of Artan’s movements between the purchase of the knife and the point when his vehicle is spotted on campus-area security cameras.
Anyone with information or other details is asked to call 800-CALL-FBI.