Ohio State attack prompts NYC to increase security at key sites

Security was ramped up in the city Monday after the attack on Ohio State University while college students here said they feel safe in general.

Officers from the NYPD’s Critical Response Command and Strategic Response Group were “deployed strategically around the city,” a representative for the department said in an email.

On Monday, a student drove a car into a crowd at Ohio State in Columbus before he jumped out and stabbed several people with a butcher knife, injuring 11 people, according to officials. He was then shot and killed by a police officer.

None of the victims suffered life-threatening injuries, officials said.

“I feel very safe here: I always see NYU security walking around and the NYPD is in the park all the time,” said Gauresh Walia, 17, a freshman from Norwich, Connecticut, adding that these events “are not the university’s fault. It could have been anyone. It could have been anywhere.”

Carmen Kautto, 28, a visiting Ph.D. scholar to NYU from Paris, said she feels safer in the city than in her home nation.

At the Sorbonne in Paris, Kautto said, “You have all kinds of safety measures and your bags are searched every day,” which “reminds you of all the potential dangers.”

Dante Montanaro, 17, a freshman at NYU from Trumbull, Connecticut, said he also feels safe, buoyed by the fact that the university constantly reminds them “help is abundantly available.”

The university sent out text and email alerts after a recent shooting in the area, he said.

At Brooklyn College, a spokesman said safety is the “number one priority,” adding: “We have conducted active shooter trainings with the NYPD and also provide training and information on a regular basis to all students, staff, and faculty.”

At St. John’s University in Queens, a spokesman said the school is prepared in the case of an emergency, and that their “thoughts and prayers” go out to those injured in Ohio on Monday.

“The University and our Office of Public Safety has a comprehensive Emergency Management Plan in place with specific policies and protocols should an emergency situation arise at any/all of our campus locations,” the spokesman said in an email. “Our top priority is the safety of our students, faculty, administrators, staff and the entire St. John’s community.”