Following is a statement from the Counter Extremism Project on the attack at the Ohio State University that injured 11 people: 

“The Counter Extremism Project (CEP) strongly condemns the horrific incident Monday on the Ohio State University campus that injured 11 people. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families, as well as the Ohio State University community during this difficult time.

“Targeting students at an institution of higher learning is a particularly heinous act and an affront to our treasured values. And but for the quick response from campus police, this already tragic event could have involved many more victims.

“From the evidence presently available, it appears that the perpetrator, Abdul Razak Ali Artan, was inspired in part by the ideology of the late al-Qaeda cleric Anwar al-Awlaki. Just before the attack, Artan referred to Awlaki as “our hero” in a post on Facebook. Artan thus joins a long and growing list of terrorists inspired by Awlaki, including Omar Mateen, perpetrator of the deadliest gun attack on U.S. soil; Syed Rizwan Farook, who with his wife killed 14 people in San Bernardino; Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan (2009); underwear bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab (2009); Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad (2010); Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev; and many others.

“Awlaki’s calls to violence against Americans and Westerners were so pernicious and dangerous that President Obama in 2011 made the extraordinary decision to target Awlaki in a drone strike. Yet, today, years after his death, Awlaki’s most violence-inspiring lectures continue to be readily available online.

“CEP has repeatedly called on Internet and social media companies to remove Awlaki content. It is time for these companies to stop enabling Awlaki’s violent recruitment propaganda.”

To view the report, Anwar al-Awlaki’s Ties to Extremists, click here.