Man fatally shot by police at Ohio airport had criminal past

CLEVELAND — The man shot and killed by police at a Columbus, Ohio, airport on Wednesday had a long criminal history and was once committed to a mental hospital for attempted murder, according to court records.

Hashim Hanif Ibn Abdul-Rasheed, 41, lunged at an officer with a knife in the departures area of the airport terminal in Ohio’s capital city on Wednesday afternoon, the Columbus Regional Airport Authority and the Columbus Division of Police said on Thursday.

Police had wanted to question Abdul-Rasheed because an airline ticket agent reported that he had attempted to buy an airplane ticket using identification that belonged to a woman, police said.

Officers also were investigating a vehicle parked in a restricted area outside the terminal, police said.

Police approached Abdul-Rasheed as he was returning to the vehicle. One officer shot the man as he approached with a knife and another officer shot him as he continued advancing, police said.

Abdul-Rasheed, who was pronounced dead at the scene, was found to have several knives in his possession, police said. The incident and his motives remain under investigation, police said.

Hashim Rasheed, as he is referred to in court documents, pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity in 2000 to a September 1999 crime. He had been charged with attempted murder and aggravated burglary.

Rasheed was placed at Twin Valley Psychiatric System, a maximum-security hospital in Dayton, where he remained until 2002 when he was granted conditional release and moved to a group home in Cleveland.

He continued to live in semi-supervised housing until late 2012, court records said.

In 1995, Rasheed pleaded guilty to attempted felonious assault and received a suspended sentence of five to 10 years. He served more than 1-1/2 years of probation that involved conflict resolution counseling and community service.