Grand jury backs OSU officer who shot terrorist

Ohio State University Police Officer Alan Horujko acted within the law when he fatally shot Abdul Razak Ali Artan after the student initiated an attack with his car and knife that left 13 people injured on campus, a Franklin County grand jury has concluded.

Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien announced the grand jury’s decision on Wednesday after the panel reviewed evidence presented by his office earlier in the day.

Since 1980, the policy of the prosecutor’s office has been to have cases in which a police officer used deadly force reviewed by a grand jury to determine whether a crime was committed.

“The purpose of that policy has been to assure that where a police officer causes the death of a citizen during the performance of their duties, that there is a review of those circumstances by an independent body of citizens,” O’Brien said in a statement.

According to evidence presented, on the morning of Nov. 28, students and faculty members had congregated in the courtyard around West 19th Avenue because of a natural-gas leak and fire alarm at a nearby campus building.

Artan drove his car onto a sidewalk, striking a traffic officer and several pedestrians. He then got out of the car and stabbed several people and began chasing others with a knife.

Witnesses said Horujko, one of the first officers to respond, ordered Artan to drop the knife. Artan refused and then ran at the officer, who fired his gun five times, killing Artan.

An investigation confirmed that “this was an act of terrorism” and that Artan had acted alone, O’Brien said in the statement.

Artan, 18, was an OSU student from Columbus who was a Somali refugee. Federal authorities believe the attack was inspired by an American-born cleric with ties to al-Qaida and ISIS propaganda.