Suspect Dead After Driving Into Crowd, Stabbing People at Ohio State University

A suspect was shot dead by police after he allegedly plowed into pedestrians with a car and then stabbed multiple people with a butcher's knife at the Ohio State University campus in Columbus, Ohio, this morning, the university said. The scene is now secure, officials say.

Nine people were transported to local hospitals, officials said. One person had critical injuries and eight were in stable condition.

OSU said in a statement that the "injuries include stab wounds, injury by motor vehicle and other injuries that are being evaluated." The university added that "facts are still being verified."

The incident was reported by OSU officials as an active shooter warning shortly before 10 a.m.

Less than two hours later, OSU police said the scene was secure and police lifted the "shelter in place" alert.

The incident happened at 9:52 a.m. when the suspect struck pedestrians with a car, officials said at a news conference. The suspect then exited the vehicle and used a butcher knife to cut multiple people, officials said. An officer then shot and killed the suspect, officials said. Authorities have not released the attacker's name, though sources told ABC News that authorities believe the attacker is of Somali descent and is a legal permanent resident of the U.S. Sources said authorities may have found a Facebook post written by the suspect that expressed grievances over attacks on Muslims. When the active shooter warning was sent out, some students barricaded themselves in classrooms. One witness was Kendrick Price, an academic adviser at OSU, who told ABC News he ran to his second-story office window after hearing screams. He saw a person running toward police who was then shot multiple times, he said.

Sophomore Jacob Bowers, 20, had been sitting on a bench listening to music before class he saw a man pull "a large knife" and start "chasing people around trying to attack them."

"Luckily there were so many people he couldn't focus on one target," said Bowers, who did not witness anyone getting stabbed. "I saw the police officer take down the stabber. He saved lives today."

Bowers said he did not hear the assailant say anything, "which was almost scarier."

FBI agents were among the authorities who swarmed the scene in response to the active shooter report.

Once the scene was secured, OSU police said all classes at the Columbus campus would be canceled for the remainder of the day. Nearly 60,000 students are enrolled at the OSU Columbus campus.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich said in a statement: "My thoughts are with the victims of this attack right now and I pray for their safety and recovery. I am grateful for the professional, coordinated response from first responders whose efforts helped effectively contain this incident before further harm could be done. I have been staying in contact with Ohio first responders since the incident began and have spoken with Ohio State's President Dr. Michael Drake to pledge whatever additional help the university needs."

Kasich postponed an event scheduled for today in Dublin, Ohio, due to the shooting.

President Obama was briefed on the attack, White House press secretary Josh Earnest said in today's press briefing.

ABC News' Ben Gittleson, Jennifer Leong, Mike Levine, Meridith McGraw and Devin Villacis contributed to this report.