Ohio State Attack: Victim Refuses to Meet with President-elect Trump

COLUMBUS, OH — President-elect Donald Trump spent part of Thursday meeting with victims of the Nov. 29 attack at Ohio State University that injured 11. The president-elect also spent time with Officer Alan Horujko who shot and killed the attacker, Abdul Razak Ali Artan.

However, at least one victim refused to meet with Trump. Professor William Clark, who spoke to the media following the attack, declined an invitation to speak with the president-elect. He told CNN that he was put off by Trump's initial reaction to the attack.

Following the attack, Trump took to Twitter to blame ISIS for the incident.

“First of all, from my healing standpoint I didn’t feel it was a necessary step for me [to meet with Trump],” Clark stated. “I’m older than most of the other victims and they had a more traumatic experience being chased by a guy with a knife than I did.”

Clark was hit by Artan's van when the attacker drove it into a crowd of people. He was able to escape the scene with two cuts in his leg and no other damage.

At a press conference after the attacks, Clark refused to speculate on Artan's motives and said that the things that drive any student to radical action are complex. When told that ISIS had claimed responsibility for the attack, Clark responded, "That doesn’t necessarily imply that ISIS was behind the planning. I don’t know if that was the entire story. I don’t know if there were personal or family issues behind this."

Photo: Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America/Wikimedia Commons