2016 Ohio Restaurant Attack

What happened

• On February 11,2016 Mohamed Barry entered the Nazareth Restaurant in Columbus, Ohio and began to attack customers with a machete, injuring 4 people.
• Barry was killed as he attempted to attack police officers with his machete.
• In 2017, the White House said it was a terrorist attack.

DEtails

• Barry first entered the restaurant at about 5:20 p.m. and spoke to an employee. However, NBC News reported that Barry asked the employee where the restaurant's owner was from. According to restaurant owner Hany Baransi, the employee told Barry that Barsani is from Israel. Barry left the restaurant afterwards and returned half an hour later, armed with a machete.

DEtails

• Baransi believes that the attack was an act of terrorism because he is Israeli and added that there were a number of other restaurants in the strip mall that Barry could have chosen to attack.
• The Washington Post described Barsani as a "popular local figure" and his restaurant as a "multicultural mingling place"; a painting of a Christian, a Jew, and a Muslim in amicable conversation hangs on the wall.

AfterMath

• The restaurant was closed down in the immediate wake of the attack, with a partial reopening four days after the attack.The restaurant fully reopened at 11:00 a.m. on Feb.19 but it was abruptly closed down again hours later.In the days immediately after the attack, Barsani announced his belief that his employees were in danger because of his Israeli background and the hatred he and his staff were subsequently subjected to.

Continued Aftermath

• The restaurant stayed open, although Barsani continued to assert that authorities in Columbus and the United States in general do not take the threat of terrorist sufficiently seriously.In November 2016, following a car-ramming and stabbing attack at Ohio State University, Columbus Police Deputy Chief Michael Woods compared it to the restaurant attack committed by Barry as also a potential act of terrorism.