Hashim Hanif Ibn Abdul-Rasheed shot dead Columbus, OH airport after ‘attempting to stab’ cop

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http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2015/01/08/police-ID-man-shot-at-Port-Columbus.html

Police: Man shot at Port Columbus had history of mental illness
Thursday January 8, 2015 10:18 AM

The Columbus man who was shot and killed by police at Port Columbus airport yesterday was a 41-year-old with a history of mental illness.

Columbus police said that Hashim Hanif Ibn Abdul-Rasheed tried to buy an airline ticket with a woman’s ID before his deadly confrontation with officers.

Abdul-Rasheed spent nearly a dozen years under court supervision in Cuyahoga County after he was charged with attempted murder and was found not guilty by reason of insanity.

About 12:45 p.m. yesterday, as Abdul-Rasheed approached a ticket counter and tried to buy a ticket, airport police officers were also at his GMC SUV that was illegally parked near the departures area.

Columbus police said they don’t know what prompted Abdul-Rasheed to arrive at the airport armed, it turned out, with knives.

They said there was no indication that terrorism was involved, despite the shooting occurring on a day when world news was dominated by a deadly terrorist attack at the offices of a French newspaper.

Abdul-Rasheed was found not guilty by reason of insanity on charges of attempted murder, aggravated burglary, aggravated robbery, grand theft and gun possession.

In June 2000, a judge ruled that Abdul-Rasheed was subject to involuntary hospitalization and ordered him to the maximum-security unit at Twin Valley Psychiatric System in Dayton.

He spent nearly a year there before a judge ruled in March 2001 that he go to Northcoast Behavioral Health System as the least restrictive setting.

He went to a group home under court order in September 2002 and then a halfway house a year later. He moved into his own housing in March 2006 before being released in December 2012.

Weiner said police made contact last night with Abdul-Rasheed’s wife, who lives in Columbus.

Jim Shriner, a tow-truck driver who witnessed yesterday’s encounter and largely corroborated the police account, said he was certain of one thing: The man appeared to do everything he could to get himself shot.

“I don’t know how he thought it was going to end,” said Shriner, owner of Broad & James Towing. “I feel horrible that somebody lost their life. At the same time, the officer tells you to stop, it’s time to stop.”

A team of Columbus police homicide detectives that investigates officer-involved shootings was called in by Columbus Regional Airport Authority police to spearhead the probe, which is standard procedure.

Sgt. Rich Weiner, a Columbus Police Division spokesman, gave this account:

The separate calls about the illegally parked SUV and the suspicious man at the ticket counter came in about 12:45 p.m. and quickly merged as Abdul-Rasheed walked up to the vehicle. By then, airport police had called for Shriner’s tow truck to take the SUV from where it was parked, in the area where passengers about to take flights from Port Columbus are being dropped off.

“It looked like a casual encounter at first, and then suddenly (the suspect) produced a knife and lunged at the officer and attempted to stab him,” Weiner said.

Abdul-Rasheed barely missed the officer, who fired a gun multiple times.

Abdul-Rasheed dropped to the ground but got up and came at officers again. Another officer fired multiple times, killing him not far from the north doors to the departures level of the terminal.

 

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http://www.10tv.com/content/stories...spects-name-in-fatal-shooting-at-airport.html

Knife-Wielding Man Shot Dead At Port Columbus Had History Of Mental Illness, Violence

UPDATED: Thursday January 8, 2015 8:45 PM



COLUMBUS, Ohio - The man at the center of Wednesday's deadly shooting at Port Columbus had a history of mental illness and violence. Police say they shot and killed 41-year-old Hashim Abdul-Rasheed of Hilliard after he tried to stab an officer. Court records obtained by 10TV reveal this would not be his first act of violence.

Police and federal agents descended on the Bridgestone Apartments in Hilliard Wednesday night, searching for evidence and information linked to 41-year-old Hashim Abdul-Rasheed.

Alarmed neighbors had no idea the officers were there regarding the deadly shooting at Port Columbus. But it was the second incident in two days to cause concern.

"Two days ago, there was a tall black man just outside the door yelling up to the high heavens about something,” said neighbor Tim Butt. “I thought he was just goofing around but it went on for about ten minutes."

It was Tuesday night, the day before the airport confrontation that Butt says he saw Rasheed behaving very strangely.

"Just standing outside, he was banging on the door for a little bit, then he'd come out and put his hands up, start screaming. And I could not tell what he was screaming for."

Court records obtained by 10TV show two-decade history of violence and mental illness involving Rasheed. In 1995, he was convicted of attempted felonious assault for stabbing a man in Cuyahoga County. His prison sentence was suspended to a year and a half probation plus counseling.

Four years later, he was charged with attempted murder, aggravated burglary, and grand theft. Records show he was found with two handguns, more than 200 rounds of ammunition, and a five-inch knife. In June of 2000, he was found not guilty by reason of insanity and ordered to a psychiatric facility.

In 2007, the court found him still mentally ill, but in need of less restrictive care, "due to his clinical stability over the last two years." In December of 2012, the court released him from supervision.

More recently, 10TV has learned police were called out to Abdul-Rasheed's home six times in the past six months. In August, his wife called saying "she thinks he is having a breakdown" and "not taking prescribed medications." His wife told police he was paranoid schizophrenic, said he's "off his meds" and she is "locked in her bedroom, afraid of him." There were domestic violence calls, one made by him in September, and another by his wife in November.

Family members of Rasheed's 10TV reached Thursday declined comment.

Along with the strange behavior mentioned by neighbors, there was also an odd discovery inside his home. Sources tell 10TV there were several mannequins with photos of Rasheed over their faces. That’s in addition to several canisters of urine police found inside his vehicle Wednesday.


CAMERAS CAPTURE SHOOTING

Surveillance cameras at the airport captured the shooting. Investigators who have watched the video tell 10TV the best word they can use to describe it is frightening.

Investigators who have seen the shooting caught on camera say it appears the officers had only asked the suspect a question or two when he suddenly pulled a large knife and began screaming and going after the officers.

Authorities say the officer that was being attacked by the knife retreated until he couldn't retreat anymore. Investigators say it appears the suspect was so close when the officer pulled the trigger, the officer suffered burns on his hands and his uniform pants from the flash of his own firearm. Investigators add the video shows the suspect actually falls against the officer who scrambles to retreat.

Authorities say the officers tried to stop the suspect with a Taser, but it malfunctioned. One of the officers also tried to subdue the suspect with a baton, until a third officer fired the deadly shot. Pappas says the officers had no way of knowing the man with the knife suffered a long history of mental illness, and they may never know whether he was suicidal, or suffering a psychotic episode.


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