Posted on 02/12/16
| News Source: VIN
Columbus, OH - The owner of an Ohio restaurant where a man attacked patrons with a machete before being killed by police says he believes his establishment was targeted because he is Israeli, but the FBI isn’t so sure.
Hany Baransi tells The Columbus Dispatch that he thinks the machete-wielding man purposely chose the Nazareth Restaurant and Deli on Thursday instead of one of the other nearby businesses in the strip mall.
Baransi said his family is Israeli, Christian and Arab. “I am the minor, minor, minor of the minority. So nobody likes me.”
FBI Special Agent Rick Smith says it’s too early in the investigation to jump to any conclusions.
Authorities identified the attacker as 30-year-old Mohamed Barry. He was fatally shot by an officer after fleeing the scene. Officers unsuccessfully used a stun gun first, and Barry was shot after lunging at the officers.
Four people at the restaurant were injured, one critically.