The Council on American–Islamic Relations (CAIR) have strongly condemned a stabbing attack at Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio on Monday, which injured 11 people and led to the death of the assailant, saying that Muslims were “saddened and heartbroken” by the attack.

CAIR’s Ohio legal director, Jennifer Nimer told reporters “We want to condemn in the strongest possible terms this and any other kind of senseless violent act.”

According to CEOAfrica’s source, Press TV, the attack took place when a Somali man, identified as Abdul Razak Ali Artan, rammed his car into pedestrians on the Columbus campus before getting out of the vehicle and going on a stabbing rampage.

According to police, around 80 people were on the sidewalk when Artan violently drove the car over the kerb. However, he was immediately gunned down by an officer before hurting more people.

The Chairman of CAIR’s national board, Roula Allouch said “Millions here in the United States, billions across the globe condemn acts of violence. They do not speak for us, they don’t speak to our faith.”

A local mosque president, Basil Gohar, also noted that Muslim communities were “horrified” by the attack. He said “As Ohioans, as Americans and as Muslims we are horrified by this tragedy and this attack,” he said, adding that the attack had nothing to do with the culture and the heritage of Somali Muslims.

*Students at Trinity Lutheran Seminary hold a prayer vigil at Jacob';s Porch church following the car and knife attack on the campus of Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, November 28, 2016. (Photo by AFP)

Artan was a third-year student at Ohio State University and a Somali refugee who was staying in the US as a legal permanent resident. Some media reports connected the 18-year-old to the Daesh (ISIL) terrorist group after police and the FBI said they were investigating the attack as a possible act of terror.

In an interview in August last year, Artan had criticized the media for providing a false image of Muslims.

The attack came amid debate among Ohio lawmakers at the state Senate to reduce the penalty of carrying a gun on a campus from ​a felony to a misdemeanour.