AUSTIN — Gov. Greg Abbott believes attacks like the one at Ohio State on Monday could be avoided by putting guns in the hands of college students.

During an appearance on Fox News, the Republican governor said that same kind of tragic incident probably wouldn't happen in Texas, where it's legal for licensed gun owners to carry concealed weapons at public college campuses.

"It's instances like this where kids on campus can have guns where they could have been able to respond initially," Abbott said. "On a college campus like here in Texas, people will think twice before waging an attack like this knowing that they could be gunned down immediately."

.@GregAbbott_TX: It is insanity that the U.S. will not safeguard our people, by bringing in people from terror-sponsored nations pic.twitter.com/igbG4MNBau — FOX & friends (@foxandfriends) November 29, 2016

Abbott also mistakenly said Texas' campus carry law, which went into effect Aug. 1, allows people to "open carry" firearms at public colleges and universities. It does not. The new law allows only concealed carry of handguns by individuals who are properly licensed.

Previously, state law allowed concealed carry only in public areas on campus, like quads and sidewalks. Campus carry does not apply to private institutions of higher education, and most have decided to continue banning guns.

On Monday morning, Ohio State student Abdul Razak Ali Artan drove his car into a group of students before exiting the vehicle and stabbing a number of people with a butcher knife. Artan injured 11 people; one is in critical condition. Authorities are investigating the incident as a terrorist attack.

Artan, who was shot dead by campus police just after the attack, was a legal U.S. resident who was born in Somalia.

During his interview Tuesday, Abbott also addressed the issue of refugee resettlement and sanctuary cities. He said allowing more refugees from "terrorist-based nations ... like Somalia, like Yemen, like Iraq" would increase the probability of attacks like the one at Ohio State.

"It was this very issue that caused me as governor of Texas to withdraw Texas from the refugee relocation process. I predicted this was going to happen," Abbott added, referencing the state's unsuccessful attempts to block refugees from being resettled here. "It is insanity that the United States of America will not safeguard our people by bringing in people from terrorist-sponsored nations."