Thursday night, Mohammad Barry injured four at an Israeli-owned restaurant in Columbus, Ohio. According to witnesses, Barry began stabbing patrons with a machete, going booth by booth.
Barry fled the scene but police were able to locate him. When Barry lunged at police wielding a knife and machete, police opened fire, killing him.
The FBI is now investigating, but they’re not saying why. No reports indicate whether or not the counterterrorism unit is involved.
Fox News reported:
The FBI is investigating a machete attack Thursday night that turned a popular, Israeli-owned restaurant in Columbus, Ohio, into a bloodbath, but local police say there is no indication so far of a terror motive.Of the four patrons wounded in the attack at the Nazareth Restaurant and Deli, one was in critical condition before being upgraded to “stable.” The attacker was identified as Mohammad Barry, a law enforcement source told Fox News.”There’s nothing to lead us to believe this is anything more than a random attack,” Columbus police spokesman Sgt. Rich Weiner told the The Columbus Dispatch.Weiner added that the FBI is also investigating the attack but declined say why.A source told Fox News the FBI is scouring Barry’s background, which includes interviewing associates and digging into his travel history. Fox is also told that investigators are looking into Barry’s digital and online footprint for terrorist propaganda or evidence of communication extremists.Police said the suspect walked into the restaurant around 5:30 p.m. and spoke with an employee before leaving. Local reports said he asked for the owner, but police did not confirm that. The suspect returned nearly 30 minutes later with machete in hand and attacked a couple, and then turned on diners who came to their aid, police said.The suspect fled in a car, which was eventually stopped by cops, triggering the fatal encounter. According to local reports, as officers approached the man’s vehicle, he got out with a knife in one hand and the machete in the other. After an unsuccessful attempt to subdue the man with a Taser, he lunged towards cops forcing them to open fire.Officials say the motivation for the man’s attack was unclear. Witnesses described a terrifying scene inside the restaurant.“He looked straight at me, but he went over to the booths and just started going down the booths. It all seemed to happen in slow motion,” a waitress told WBNS….It was not clear if there was any political or racial motivation for the attack, but the Nazarath is known for its multiculturalism. The entrance is adorned with a small Israeli flag and the Arabic phrase, “Ahlan Wa Shalan” which translates to “You are my family, take it easy.”
On Special Report tonight, Brett Baier reported the attack was a “lone wolf attack,” according to the FBI.
Though not enumerated in Fox News’ written report, the outlet indicated Barry spent time in Somalia and in the Middle East.
ABC News reports Mohammad Barry was on the FBI’s radar prior to Thursday night’s attack.
The machete-wielding man who allegedly injured four people in an attack at an Ohio restaurant before he was shot and killed by police was known to the FBI, but not under full scale investigation, law enforcement sources tell ABC News.The suspect, identified as Mohamed Barry, 30, according to Franklin County Coroner Dr. Anahi Ortiz, was in a law enforcement database which includes names potentially related to terrorism, sources said. Being in the database would have flagged him if he came in contact with local authorities.The FBI is investigating the suspect’s motive, Columbus Police Chief Kim Jacobs said at a news conference this afternoon, adding that the motive is not yet clear.Barry had a Columbus address, but police do not yet know where he is from, Jacobs said.
More details as we have them.
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