Activists at Ohio State University held a protest this week that framed the killing of Abdul Razak Ali Artan during a terror attack as unjustified.

Eleven students were injured Nov. 28 when Mr. Artan turned his car into a weapon. The Somali immigrant and logistics management student was shot by Ohio State University Police Department Officer Alan Horujko, 28, before he could execute victims with a butcher knife.

Maryam Abidi, a fourth-year in women’s, gender and sexuality studies, defended the protest in a statement to the campus newspaper. She said Mr. Artan, 18, was added to a list of names of those wrongly killed by cops because lethal force cannot bring justice.

“In some cases, the deceased may have committed acts of violence against others before they were killed,” Ms. Abidi told the Lantern Thursday. “Perhaps they were domestic abusers, perhaps they threatened or killed others. This possibility is not something to shy away from. The protest against police brutality extends to the innocent and the guilty alike, because we know that no matter the crime, justice and due process don’t come from a cop’s bullet.”

The activist added that “right-wing pundits” have used the attack to focus “Islamophobia and xenophobia” onto Columbus.

Stephanie Clemons Thompson, assistant director of residence in the Office of Student Life University Housing at OSU, expressed a related sentiment via social media after the attack.

“Abudl Razak Ali Artan was a BUCKEYE, a member of our family,” Ms. Thompson wrote, the newspaper reported. “If you think it is OK to celebrate his death and/or share pictures of his dead body and I see it in my timeline, I will unfriend you. I pray you find compassion for his life, as troubled as it clearly was. Think of the pain he must have been in to feel that his actions were the only solution. We must come together in this time of tragedy. #BuckeyeStrong #BlackLivesMatter #SayHisName.”

On person who praised Officer Horujko’s actions after the attack was university police Chief Craig Stone, who told reporters that students were “very fortunate” his training kicked in with speed and accuracy.

“We owe him a debt of gratitude. He did a fabulous job today,” added Monica Moll, director of OSU public safety, CNN reported.

The @OSUPolice confirm Officer Alan Horujko shot and killed the suspect, Abdul Razak Ali Artan, Monday morning. pic.twitter.com/6BuZ9GN1zY — OSU Police (@OSUPOLICE) November 28, 2016

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