Man stabs 4 in Ohio building, police say

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A man armed with three knives stabbed four people Wednesday afternoon at a downtown office building several blocks from the Statehouse and was shot by a police officer as he tried to leave, authorities said.

Columbus police spokesman Sgt. Rich Weiner said the suspect confronted one victim in the admissions office of Miami-Jacobs Career College before 1 p.m and stabbed him. He said other people intervened and took away a knife the suspect was using.

"We do know that one of the good Samaritans that came to aid the first victim -- he was stabbed also," Weiner said.

Weiner said those who intervened didn't realize the suspect had other knives.

Three male victims are in critical condition, and a fourth man has minor injuries. The suspect is also in critical condition. Police have identified the victims and the suspect but haven't released their names, Weiner said.

Two of the victims were either students or staff at the privately run school, Weiner said. Two other victims were outside in the lobby area when they were attacked, he said. All the stabbings occurred on the first floor.

A knife was recovered inside the school, and two knives were found near the suspect outside after he had been shot.

One officer used a stun gun on the suspect at around the same time that another officer shot him, Weiner said.

The 25-story building also houses offices for Attorney General Mike DeWine, and more than 100 employees work there, DeWine spokeswoman Lisa Hackley said. DeWine's office isn't there, and he wasn't present at the time of the stabbings, she said.

Hackley said she couldn't confirm yet whether any of the victims were state employees.

Officials don't know whether the stabbing was random or stemmed from an earlier issue, Weiner said.

Jason Jackson, who works at Gordon's Gourmet in the building lobby, said he heard that someone had been stabbed, so he ran out of the building.

When he came back to see what was happening, he saw the suspect outside.

"He had a knife, and the police had just pulled up, and they're saying, `Sir, you need to stop. You need to just put the knife down.' He wouldn't. They drew guns. `Sir, please put the knife down.' And he kind of lunged at them, so they shot him," said Jackson, 31, of Reynoldsburg.