Similar attacks in recent years were carried out in Nice, France; Berlin, Germany; and London, England.
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Closer to home, 18-year-old Somali-born Abdul Razak Ali Artan drove into a crowd of students in Columbus at Ohio State University on Nov. 28, 2016. Artan used a knife to attack bystanders, injuring 13 people before being shot and killed by OSU officer Alan Horujko.
“That’s our biggest threat is the lone wolf because it’s like finding a needle in three haystacks,” said Timothy A. Shaw, a former FBI special agent in Dayton who has expertise in counter-terrorism operations.
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“This type of attack would be very difficult to prevent unless you have intelligence information that this person is going to do this, unless you know who this person is and what kind of vehicle they are driving,” said Patrick Oliver, Cedarville University director of criminal justice and a former police chief in Fairborn and Cleveland, among other places.
Shaw said people should have their “head on a swivel” to be alert of their surroundings.
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