‘No rhyme or reason’ for machete attack at Ohio restaurant

Police say that the restaurant’s patrons fought back and threw chairs at Baransi, who fled in a auto after injuring four diners and led cops on a five-mile chase. CBS News homeland security correspondent Jeff Pegues reported that the suspect, whose name has not been released, is believed to be Somalian and may have traveled to the Middle East in 2012. Reuters was unable to immediately verify the report. According to local reports, as officers approached the man’s vehicle, he got out with a knife in one hand and the machete in the other.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is assisting Columbus police in the investigation, said Supervisory Special Agent Rick Smith of FBI’s Cincinnati division.

Barry reportedly attacked the restaurant shortly after speaking with one of the its employees.

Police say quick observations by employees and patrons witnessing a machete attack at an OH restaurant helped authorities track down the fleeing suspect, who was fatally shot in a confrontation with officers a few miles away.

“He came to each table and just started hitting them”, said Karen Bass, who was in the restaurant at the time.

All I can say at this point is that if you live in Columbus or the surrounding area or planning to visit Columbus in the near future, it would be a nice thing to visit the Nazareth Restaurant & Deli to show your support for Mr. Baransi and have a falafel and maybe some shish kabob.

Hany Baransi, the Arab Israeli Christian who owns the Nazareth Restaurant and Deli in northeast Columbus, believes that his establishment was attacked because of his background.

Officials say the motivation for the man’s attack was unclear. Another man and woman, both 43, were in stable condition.

The FBI is investigating the suspect’s motive, Columbus Police Chief Kim Jacobs said at a news conference this afternoon, adding that the motive is not yet clear.

“Another officer in a cruiser fired a couple shots at him and put him down”, Weiner said.

Rich Weiner said of the attacker: ‘There was no rhyme or reason as to who he was going after’. “I am the minor, minor, minor of the minority”, he told The Columbus Dispatch. Overturned dining chairs and dark-stained pieces of paper towels and cloth littered the floor.