OSU attacker stewed over treatment of Muslims

Associated Press

COLUMBUS

A Somali-born student who carried out a car-and-knife attack at Ohio State University stewed over the treatment of Muslims while apparently staying under the radar of federal law enforcement, underscoring the difficulty authorities face in identifying and stopping lone wolves bent on violence.

Abdul Razak Ali Artan was not known to FBI counterterrorism authorities before Monday’s rampage, which ended with him shot to death by police and 11 people injured, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press.

That’s in contrast to several other recent attacks, including those in New York City; Orlando, Fla.; and Garland, Texas, in which those blamed for the violence had previously come to the attention of federal agents.

Law enforcement officials have not identified a motive for the Ohio State violence but have suggested terrorism as a possibility. FBI agents continued to search Artan’s apartment for clues, but California U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said he had seen no evidence Artan was directed by or was in communication with any overseas terror organization.

The mode of attack – plowing a car into civilians, then slashing victims with a butcher knife – was in keeping with the recommended tactics of jihadist propaganda. And Facebook posts that were apparently written shortly before the attack and came to light afterward show Artan nursed grievances against the U.S.