Multiple People Taken to Hospitals During ‘Active Shooter’ Situation on OSU Campus, Police Report Scene ‘Now Secure’

We join much of the state and country in following the news of an active shooter on the campus of the Ohio State University this morning. (Note upfront that details remain amorphous and in flux.) As the morning unfolded, police clarified that the suspect used a vehicle and a knife as weapons, and was not a “shooter.”

According to Andrew Thomas, the chief medical officer for OSU’s Wexner Medical Center, nine people were taken to three area hospitals today. One person is listed in critical condition. Those people were injured after being hit by a vehicle or being stabbed.

The attack involved a man striking a group of pedestrians on OSU’s campus this morning, then getting out of the car and cutting people with a butcher’s knife, according to OSU officials.

The Columbus Department of Health reported earlier today that one suspect was shot and killed by police.

OSU lifted its “shelter in place” order at 11:30 a.m. The “scene is now secure,” according to the school. All classes have been canceled for the day.

Scene contributor Phoebe Potiker has kept in touch from her OSU dorm, just outside what appears to be the focal point of the crime scene. Initial reports from OSU’s Emergency Management office around 9:55 a.m. cited Watts Hall — at 19th and College — as the area of the crimes.

(“Run Hide Fight,” an oft-repeated emergency mantra on college campuses, refers to the order of responses that people should take when confronted with a situation like this. Run if you can; hide if you can’t; fight back as a last resort.)

(2:20 p.m. note: This piece has been updated to reflect official statements on what happened at OSU today.)

This article appears in Nov 23-29, 2016.