Nine people were sent to hospitals Monday after an attack at the Ohio State University campus in Columbus, Ohio.
University officials said one suspect is dead while nine victims are hospitalized. The Ohio State University chief of police said eight people are in stable condition and one is in critical condition.
Attacker used vehicle and butcher knife
Police said the attacker used a vehicle and a butcher knife. Witnesses reported a car being driven into a crowd on campus. Officers were able to intervene quickly and take down the attacker, the university chief said. He said it all happened within minutes.
The suspect was shot and killed. He has been identified by the university as Abdul Razak Ali Artan. He was a student at Ohio State.
READ: Ohio State attacker was recently profiled in school paper
Victims stabbed and hit by vehicle
The university said victim injuries "include stab wounds, injury by motor vehicle and other injuries that are being evaluated."
Medical officials said some victims suffered lacerations while others suffered injuries from being hit by a vehicle. At least two victims underwent surgery.
Ohio State University's Emergency Management sent a Buckeye Alert Monday morning first saying there was an active shooter on the campus in Columbus.
Rain starting to fall on OSU attack scene. pic.twitter.com/D96Do3pal2
— Rod Meloni (@RodMeloni) November 28, 2016
The alert stated the active shooter situation was near Watts Hall located on 19th Avenue and College. Watts Hall is a materials science and engineering building.
The alert also told students and faculty to "Run Hide Fight," which is standard protocol for active shooter situations. It means: Run, evacuate if possible; hide, get silently out of view; or fight, as a last resort, take action to disrupt or incapacitate the shooter if your life is in imminent danger.
Columbus Police Chief Kim Jacobs said police were looking into whether it was a terrorist attack. The FBI and other agencies joined the investigation.
MORE: Ohio State University: Suspect killed, 9 people hospitalized after campus attack
BREAKING UPDATE: Ohio State: "Scene is now secure;" shelter-in-place is lifted, but all classes are canceled today on Columbus campus.
— NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt (@NBCNightlyNews) November 28, 2016
NBC News is reporting more details about what happened, according to some witnesses:
A law enforcement official said some of the students injured were attacked with a large knife. It was unclear if any of the victims were shot. A student also reported seeing a car plow into a crowd.
One student told NBC News she was walking down the street when she saw a car plow into a crowd of people who had evacuated an academic building during a fire alarm.
"This car just swerved and ran into a whole group of people," said Nicole Kreinbrink. "It hit a cop really bad."
"All these people were running and screaming and yelling," she added.
Another student told NBC News he heard gunfire from his dorm room.
"I heard gunshots from my dorm, probably six or seven," said Stephen Yunker, 18, a freshman who lives two blocks from Watts Hall, where the incident occurred.
He said he and his roommate looked at each other, heard sirens about five seconds later, and then looked out the window.
"We saw fire trucks, couple of cars, and a body laying on the ground," he said.
The Ohio State Emergency Management Twitter account is updating with the latest information:
UPDATE 2/2: Area around 19th & College Ave. is closed. List of buildings closed and additional information at https://t.co/u4Ls7QUyyW
— OSU Emergency Mngmnt (@OSU_EMFP) November 28, 2016
UPDATE 1/2 : Shelter in Place lifted. Scene is now secure. ALL classes are canceled on Columbus campus for the remainder of the day.
— OSU Emergency Mngmnt (@OSU_EMFP) November 28, 2016
Buckeye Alert: Active Shooter on campus. Run Hide Fight. Watts Hall. 19th and College.
— OSU Emergency Mngmnt (@OSU_EMFP) November 28, 2016
Buckeye Alert: Continue to shelter in place. Avoid area of College. More information to follow.
— OSU Emergency Mngmnt (@OSU_EMFP) November 28, 2016
Buckeye Alert: Continue to shelter in place in north campus area. Follow directions of Police on scene.
— OSU Emergency Mngmnt (@OSU_EMFP) November 28, 2016
BREAKING: ATF Columbus Field Division agents are responding to scene of reported OSU active shooter.
— ATF HQ (@ATFHQ) November 28, 2016
With nearly 60,000 students at its main Columbus campus, Ohio State is one of the nation's largest universities.
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OSU student in middle of chaos. pic.twitter.com/px6Gxdo9uq
— Rod Meloni (@RodMeloni) November 28, 2016
