Ohio State University was rocked by an attack Monday that left one dead and at least nine injured.
Those numbers could have been higher if not for the heroic actions of Ohio State University police officer Alan Horujko. Horujko, 28, stopped Abdul Razak Ali Artan in less than two minutes after the junior OSU student rammed his car into a group of pedestrians and then attacked them with a butcher’s knife.
The @OSUPolice confirm Officer Alan Horujko shot and killed the suspect, Abdul Razak Ali Artan, Monday morning. pic.twitter.com/6BuZ9GN1zY
— OSU Police (@OSUPOLICE) November 28, 2016
Horujko radioed to dispatch at 9:52 a.m. that a man had driven his car into a group of pedestrians near Watts Hall on campus. He then radioed again to say there was a man with a knife, and, “officer in trouble.”
One minute later, at 9:53 a.m., Horujko radioed for a third time to say he had engaged the suspect and shots had been fired.
Here’s an image of the scene at Ohio State where a car attempted to drive into students pic.twitter.com/yXh0X0Wgtt
— NOT SC Cleveland (@SC_ClevelandNOT) November 28, 2016
His quick thinking — and decisive actions — prevented Artan from further harming students he’d already attacked, and stopped him from hurting anyone else.
Eleven people were sent to the hospital after the attack, and the school was placed on lock down as a precaution while police searched for any additional attackers. Thankfully, none of those sent to the hospital have life-threatening injuries.
Horujko joined the OSU police force after he graduated from OSU in 2015.
Director of Public Safety addresses media regarding Monday morning situation. @OSUPOLICE pic.twitter.com/INwcclZnlH
— Ohio State A&P (@OhioStateAP) November 28, 2016
Artan was reportedly an 18-year-old Somali refugee who lived in the U.S. as a legal permanent resident. He’d described himself as a “scared” in an August interview with the school’s newspaper, The Lantern, according to The Daily Beast.
In the interview, titled “Humans Of Ohio State,” Artan lamented that he had trouble finding prayer rooms at OSU, especially when Columbus State, where he transferred from, had plenty. “This place [OSU] is huge, and I don’t even know where to pray.”
He went on to say that he was nervous to pray in public because of the media’s portrayal of Muslims, but didn’t blame people for allegedly judging him. “If people look at me, a Muslim praying, I don’t know what they’re going to think, what’s going to happen. But, I don’t blame them. It’s the media that put that picture in their heads.”
Thank you, officer Horujko, for your service, heroism and dedication.
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