A police officer and two other emergency personnel stand near a body lying near the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Chemistry building on North Campus. Credit: Mason Swires | Assistant Photo Editor
Update 1:23 pm: During a press conference, Ohio State police chief Craig Stone said that at 9:52 a.m., the suspect drove onto the sidewalk on 19th Avenue and struck pedestrians. Afterwards, the man exited his vehicle with a butcher’s knife and began attacking people. An officer arrived at the scene and engaged the subject and ended the threat.
Stone said there were nine people injured, with eight in stable condition and one in critical condition. All injuries are believed to be non life-threatening, and the rumors of a second suspect proved to be untrue. Two individuals removed from the Lane Avenue garage are no longer suspects.
Update 1:11 pm: Students who were in Smith Lab at the time of the incident.
Michael Cloonan, second year in welding engineering.
“We were going over an example problem and we heard four gunshots. We hid in those two corners. People at the window saw man laying on the ground. We went upstairs to lab upstairs and locked the door. Police responded very quickly. Immediately. 20 seconds. Maybe less. Really quick.”
Ben Novotny, second year. welding engineering.
“Sounded like discomfort outside and within a couple seconds, gunshots. We heard screaming from outside. Screaming and then what sounded like gunshots. We stayed [in class] for 10 minutes. Then we got alerts about active shooter and our TA suggested we go upstairs. We stayed there until the all clear.”
UPDATE 12:31: During the incident this morning, Jerry Kovacich, a third-year in welding engineering, witnessed a man in a motor vehicle try to drive into a crowd after a fire alarm went off. After the car crashed, the man then attacked bystanders with a knife.
“I didn’t see anything with the shooter, what happened was it was outside of MacQuigg Lab,” Kovacich said. “The guy ended up just coming and hopping the curb with his car and trying to mow down a couple people. He lost control, and I think he ended up hitting three people, and then people were around the car. Somebody asked him if he was OK and the guy just hopped out of the car with a butcher knife and starting chasing people around.”
A statement from Ohio State said that injuries sustained Monday morning include “stab wounds, injury by motor vehicle and other injuries that are being evaluated.”
A press conference is to be held Monday afternoon, OSU officials have not yet set a time.
UPDATE 12:17: A source with the Columbus Division of Police told The Lantern one of the suspects in the shooting is dead.
UPDATE 12:13: A Columbus Police officer and Franklin County Sheriff’s Department officer said the scene is still active. There is a search being conducted car-by-car, floor-by-floor in Lane Avenue garage.
Additionally, despite the Shelter in Place warning officially be lifted by the university, some buildings, such as Houston House, are still on lockdown.
UPDATE 11:55: Sean Cody, 23, a nursing assistant, spoke to the media around 11:40 after the Shelter in Place warning was lifted. Cody was in lockdown in Ramseyer Hall on North Campus. Describing the events, Cody said he saw a large cloud of dust, which he thought was an explosion of sorts, and multiple gunshots near Watts Hall before entered Ramseyer, just before 10 a.m.
“I hear a bang, I look this way, I see a big gray cloud, and then people shouting, and then people running all directions,” said Cody, who, before hearing the gunshots, said he assumed the bang was related to construction.
UPDATE 11:10: Police officer on the scene near the Lane Avenue parking garage said the remaining shooter is believed to be inside the garage.
UPDATE 11:00 a.m.: Rebecca Diehm, a Columbus Division of Fire spokeswoman, told The Lantern eight people were transported to the hospital. One is in critical condition; the other seven are reported in stable condition.
—
An active-shooter situation occurred on campus on Monday, according to a Buckeye Alert sent around 10 a.m.
The Buckeye Alert advised those on campus to shelter in place and avoid the area near College Road. It also said more information would follow.
At least a dozen police cars and other emergency responders were at the corner of West 19th Avenue and College Road. Yellow caution tape was strung on the perimeter of the scene, extending as far east as Ramseyer Hall and south nearby to the Arps Garage.
This story will continue to be updated throughout the day as more information becomes available.
