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

COLUMBUS, Ohio — From the front door, the man with the machete didn’t have a straight path to people in the booths at the small suburban restaurant. He stepped by the welcoming greeting on the front glass, past the half-wall entryway divider and the display case of kataifi and other Mediterranean pastries.

Immediately, police said, he started swinging.

“There was no rhyme or reason as to who he was going after,” said Sgt. Rich Weiner, a Columbus police spokesman.

By the time it was over, four adults were wounded and the attacker was dead, shot by police in a confrontation a few miles away.

Columbus police identified the attacker as 30-year-old Mohamed Barry. They didn’t give a hometown for him, and his background isn’t immediately clear.

It’s unclear what motivated the Thursday evening attack at Nazareth Restaurant and Deli. Columbus police confirmed they’re working with federal authorities on the investigation.

“Lone individual, machete, going into a public place, committing an assault on people that he apparently does not know,” Columbus Deputy Chief Michael Woods said. “Those are the things that give us concern and those are things we wanted to answer right away.”

Information connected to the registration of the suspect’s car triggered an alert that required contacting the local terrorism task force, including the FBI, Weiner said.

Columbus Police Chief Kim Jacobs said the man wasn’t known to police.