
Somali refugee Abdul Razak Ali Artan posted on Facebook that he was 'sick and tired of seeing my fellow Muslim brothers being killed and tortured' shortly before he went on a slashing rampage at the Ohio State University that left 11 injured.

Authorities are currently investigating the posts, allegedly made by Artan, which mention radical cleric Anwar Awlaki and accuse America of 'interfering' with other nations.

'I am sick and tired of seeing my fellow Muslim brothers and sisters being killed and tortured EVERYWHERE,' it stated. 'I can't take it anymore.

'America! Stop interfering with other countries, especially Muslim Ummah (communities)... [if] you want us Muslims to stop carrying lone wolf attacks.'

Abdul Razak Ali Artan has been identified as the Ohio State student who went on a stabbing rampage at the school on Monday, injuring eleven

Smiling: Artan was pictured smiling during his community college in May, it is unclear how the happy graduate became radicalized within a matter of months. His car was caught on surveillance footage before the attack, right

'We are not weak, remember that,' the post said, according to NBC News.

Two hours before that, another post read: 'Forgive and forget. Love.'

Artan left at least 11 injured - one critically - after he drove onto the sidewalk at the university on Monday, mowing down crowds of innocent bystanders, witnesses say.

He then jumped out of the car and began slashing victims with a butcher knife, according to police.

While the motive for the attack is still under investigation, there are questions about whether Artan, who was Muslim, may have carried it out in the name of jihad.

Artan is reportedly a Somali refugee who fled his home country in 2007, moving first to Pakistan with his family before coming to America in 2014 and gaining legal permanent resident status. His age has not been confirmed, but it has been reported by various outlets as 18.

Somalia has become a haven for terror groups - including ISIS - since civil war broke out in the 1990s. And Columbus has one of the largest contingents of Somali refugees in the U.S.

The suspect lived briefly in a temporary shelter in Dallas before settling in Ohio, according to Catholic Charities records, obtained by NBC.

A knife-wielding man was killed on Monday after going on a rampage at the Ohio State University. Above, a body is seen on the campus

Police cover the body of suspect Artan outside Watts Hall on the campus of Ohio State University in Columbus after the attack

The assailant - identified as Abdul Artan - allegedly drove this car into crowds evacuating Watts Hall after a fire alarm was pulled Monday morning

A car which police say was used by an attacker to plow into a group of students is seen outside Watts Hall on Ohio State University's campus

Artan then got out of his car and started stabbing innocent bystanders. Above, an aerial view of the car on Monday

Artan is reportedly a Somali refugee who fled his country in 2007, moving first to Pakistan with his family before coming to America in 2014 and gaining legal permanent resident status. Above, Watts Hall on Monday

Police gather outside of Watts Hall on Monday, after the assailant was killed

He attended Columbus State Community College for two years, where he graduated cum laude with an associates degree before moving onto Ohio State to continue his studies.

Artan, reportedly a logistics management student, was pictured by the school's student newspaper The Lantern on Twitter. He was interviewed by the paper back in August about his faith.

In the piece, he said that he struggled to find a private place to pray on campus, after transferring from Columbus State which had such facilities.

Alan Harujko, 28, (pictured) is the officer that shot the knife-wielding attacker dead

'This place is huge, and I don't even know where to pray. I wanted to pray in the open, but I was kind of scared with everything going on in the media.

'I'm a Muslim, it's not what the media portrays me to be. If people look at me, a Muslim praying, I don't know what they're going to think, what's going to happen,' Artan said.

At an afternoon press conference, officials said there appeared to be only one knife-wielding attacker - countering earlier reports of a shooting involving possibly multiple assailants.

The chaos started just before 10am, when a fire alarm was pulled at Watts Hall, home to the chemical engineering department. As people were evacuating the building, Artan drove a silver car onto the sidewalk and mowed down the crowds of innocent bystanders.

'This car just swerved and ran into a whole group of people,' witness Nicole Kreinbrink told NBC. 'All these people were running and screaming and yelling.'

He then got out of the car and started slashing victims with a butcher knife. A witness told CNN that Artan remained silent throughout the attack but had a 'crazed' look on his face.

OSU sophomore Jacob Bowers says he heard someone yell 'he's got a knife'.

'I saw a guy with a big-a** knife just chasing people around. When I saw that, I grabbed all my stuff and started running,' Bowers told NBC.

A neighbor exits his home as a sheriff stands guard outside of a residence of interest during their investigation

Police stand guard outside a residence of interest during their investigation into the slashing attack at the Ohio State University campus

Police officers are pictured in Abdul Razak Ali Artan's street following the slashing rampage at the Ohio State University

The Franklin County Bomb Squad arrived outside a 'residence of interest' in Columbus, Ohio after Artan was shot dead

An OSU police officer responded to the scene within a minute and shot the assailant dead. Above, Watts Hall on Monday

Students were told to take shelter inside buildings while the situation was underway. Pictured are some who barricaded the door to their room closed with a pile of chairs

When he looked back, he saw an officer - identified as 28-year-old Alan Harujko - at the scene approaching the suspect and yelling 'Drop it and get down or I'll shoot'. Soon after, the officer followed through on his threat and shot Artan, killing him at the scene.

After the incident at Watts Hall, police investigated rumors of a possible second assailant holed up in a nearby parking garage. SWAT teams stormed the building just before 11am and minutes later two men were led out in handcuffs. However, officials now say that they did not find any additional suspects in the garage.

Just after 11:30am, the university lifted the shelter in place, but cancelled classes for the rest of the day.

So far, at least eleven people have been transported to the hospital, with at least one person in critical condition. Six of the victims were transported to OSU's Wexner Medical Center, while three were taken to OhioHealth Grant Medical Center and another two to OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital.

The patients were treated for either stab wounds of injuries due to being hit by a car. They are a mix of faculty, graduate and undergraduate students and staff members.

Students were instructed to 'run, hide and fight' in a tweet posted by the school's office of emergency management just before 10am.

'Run, hide, fight' 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.

A high-ranking faculty member who spoke to NBC 4 Columbus said that one of his colleagues was in Watts Hall at the time and was slashed in the leg with a machete.

SWAT teams later stormed the above parking garage, looking for a possible second suspect

A member of SWAT searches a parking garage after an attack on the campus of Ohio State University on Monday

The school's Office of Emergency Management published this tweet shortly before 10am

SOMALIAN REFUGEES IN THE UNITED STATES There are currently estimated to be more than 100,000 Somalian refugees living in the United States. There has been a small trickle of Somalia immigrants into the United States since the 1920s. But numbers exploded during the 1990s when a bloody civil way broke out after rival factions toppled Siad Barre's regime in 1991. Since then, news agencies report there have been half a million casualties and more than 1.1 million people have been displaced by the brutal war which has raged for more than two decades. The the first permanent central government in the country since the start of the civil war was established in 2012, but Somalia remains a 'fragile state'. Between 2013 and 2015 alone, the United States has accepted more than 25,000 Somalian refugees. It appears Artan entered the country with his family in 2014 as one of 9,000 Somalian refugees - the highest Somalian influx in the past three years. However, he and his family reportedly fled Somalia first to Pakistan before coming to America in 2014 where he gained legal permanent status. Refugees must apply for asylum within their first year in the United States. Following a year in the U.S. they are offered the opportunity to apply for a Green Card. After five years, they can apply for citizenship. The United States had a tight cap on the numbers of refugees until President Obama announced he was increasing the numbers incrementally to 100,000 by 2017 Somalians were the third most commonly accepted refugees by America in 2014, making up 12.9 per cent of overall refugees, after Iraq and Burma. That same year was in the midst of the international refugee crisis, as the number of people displaced or fleeing persecution in their own countries hit an unprecedented 59.5 million, according to estimates by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. There were also more than 1.2 million asylum seekers worldwide. The cap of the number of refugees admitted each year is established by the president in consultation with Congress. In response to the refugee crisis, the Obama administration proposed to significantly increase the number of refugees the United States accepts each year- from 70,000 in 2015 to 85,000 in 2016 and 100,000 next year, according to Migration Policy. Advertisement

Another student told the station that his girlfriend was in the building when she heard gunshots and sought shelter in a bathroom. It now appears that those gunshots may have been the responding officer's.

OSU sophomore Wyatt Crosher, 19, was across the street when he says he heard gunshots Monday morning.

He told CNN: 'My roommate and I heard about three or four gunshots from across the street, and soon after we heard a bunch of police and ambulances pull up across the street.'

He added: 'We can't see the building where the shooting happened because of a dorm blocking our view. It truly sounded like gunshots, and really soon after we heard a bunch of sirens. We can see the police cars from our dorm.'

President-elect Donald Trump issued a statement following the attack: 'Watching the news unfold at Ohio State University. Our thoughts and prayers are with all of the students and administration.

'Excellent job by the Ohio State University Emergency Management Team (OSU_EMFP) in immediately notifying students & faculty via social media with the message: 'Buckeye Alert: Active Shooter on campus. Run Hide Fight. Watts Hall. 19th and College.'

'THANK YOU to all FIRST RESPONDERS who reacted immediately and eliminated the threat on campus.'

Police officers are seen sprinting after there were reports of an assailant on the Ohio State University campus

An officer and a police dog races to join the operation that took place in Columbus after an assailant was reported on campus

A heavily armed officer holding a large shotgun blocks the path and watches on during the incident at Ohio State University

A photo taken by Ohio State University's student newspaper shows a team of police securing an area of the campus after the situation on Monday

A photograph taken by students on campus shows police officers, paramedics and firefighters on the scene Monday morning

A crowd of students leaves the buildings surround Watts Hall at Ohio State University, after police responded to reports of an assailant

Student Nicholas Flores reacts to an attack on the campus of Ohio State University on Monday, Nov. 28, 2016, in Columbus, Ohio

Students gather near the scene of an attack on the campus at Ohio State University on Monday, Nov. 28, 2016, in Columbus, Ohio

Students leave buildings as police respond to an attack on campus at Ohio State University, Monday, Nov. 28, 2016, in Columbus, Ohio

Ohio Governor John Kasich added his own statement, saying that his 'thoughts are with the victims of this attack right now and I pray for their safety and recovery.

'I am grateful for the professional, coordinated response from first responders whose efforts helped effectively contain this incident before further harm could be done. I have been staying in contact with Ohio first responders since the incident began and have spoken with Ohio State's President Dr. Michael Drake to pledge whatever additional help the university needs.'

Ohio State University is a public university located in Columbus, Ohio. More than 58,000 students study at the school's main campus in Columbus and it is the state's largest employer.

Monday marked the first day back from classes since Thanksgiving break. Many students were likely already back at school, since the school's football team played the University of Michigan at home on Saturday, beating the Wolverines 30-27 in double overtime.

Facebook initiated a feature on Monday, allowing students and locals to mark themselves 'safe' on the website, to inform worried friends and relatives.

WAS OHIO-ATTACK INSPIRED BY ISIS? KNIFE AND CAR ATTACK HAS ECHOES OF GLOBAL 'LONE WOLF' TERROR Last November Faisal Mohammad, 18, stabbed four people at the University of California, Merced, before being shot dead by cops. He was carrying an ISIS flag in his backpack Ohio-State University appears to have been attacked by a sole suspect armed only with his car and a knife. Though police are yet to speculate on a motive or rule out secondary armed suspects who may have aided the assault, the morning rampage has chilling echoes of ISIS-inspired terror attacks across Europe and the U.S. which have used a lethal combination of cars and knives, rather than relying on guns. Last November, Faisal Mohammad, 18, stabbed four people at the University of California, Merced, before being shot dead by cops. He was carrying an ISIS flag in his backpack. ISIS terrorist Monamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel used just his truck to kill 84 in Nice by plowing into Bastille Day crowds earlier this year Wasil Farooqui allegedly tried to behead a man in Roanoke, Virginia, and then stabbed a woman, shouting Allah Akbar. He had previously tried to travel to Syria 'for terror training', according to the FBI. He appeared in court on November 21 and waived a preliminary hearing In September, Dahir Adan, 22, slashed nine shoppers at the Crossroads Mall in St Cloud, Minnesota. He was shot dead by an off-duty cop and, according to witnesses demanded to know his victims' faith before attacking them In August, ISIS claimed responsibility for a machete attack on two female officers while five were injured in a knife and ax attack on a German train weeks before The latest attack comes in the wake of an article by ISIS encouraging would-be jihadists to use 'widely available' knives if they couldn't get their hands other weapons to carry out attacks. 'One need not be a military expert or a martial arts master, or even own a gun or rifle in order to carry out a massacre or to kill and injure several disbelievers and terrorize an entire nation,' the terror group advised in the second issue of propaganda magazine Rumiyah, published by the terror group's Al-Hayat Media Center, in October. ISIS suggested a 'campaign of knife attacks' where an attacker 'could dispose of his weapon after each use, finding no difficulty in acquiring another one.' The magazine, published in English and distributed widely via social media, called for lone wolf terrorists to overcome any squeamishness about using knives as they were the most 'widely available' weapons to come by. 'Many people are often squeamish of the thought of plunging a sharp object into another person's flesh. It is a discomfort caused by the untamed, inherent dislike for pain and death, especially after 'modernization' distanced males from partaking in the slaughtering of livestock for food and the striking of the enemy in war.' The magazine stated that any discomfort at the thought of using a knife was 'never an excuse for abandoning jihad.' The first issue of the magazine encouraged jihadists to target teens playing sports after school and flower sellers. Back in 2014 ISIS figurehead Abu Mohammed al-Adnani urged western sympathizers to carry out attacks using their cars. 'If you can kill a disbelieving American or European — especially the spiteful and filthy French — or an Australian, or a Canadian, or any other disbeliever from the disbelievers waging war, including the citizens of the countries that entered into a coalition against the Islamic State, then rely upon Allah, and kill him in any manner or way, however it may be. Smash his head with a rock, or slaughter him with a knife, or run him over with your car, or throw him down from a high place, or choke him, or poison him.' Advertisement

The situation started outside Watts Hall on the school's Columbus campus, just before 10am