First picture of Somali refugee who wounded 11 during machete frenzy at Ohio State University

THE machete-wielding refugee who was shot dead by police after injuring 11 people at Ohio State University was a Somali-born student who recently revealed his fears of being a devout Muslim on campus.

Abdul Razak Ali Artan, 18, who was living in the US as a legal permanent resident, smashed a car into a group of people before assaulting his victims with a huge blade.

But given his appearance - his balding hair, moustache and goatee - questions have been asked whether he really was just 18 years old.

In August, the attacker gave an interview with the university’s student newspaper where he admitted to being 'scared' of praying openly at the college.

He said: “I wanted to pray in the open, but I was kind of scared with everything going on in the media.

“I'm a Muslim, it's not what the media portrays me to be. If people look at me, a Muslim praying, I don't know what they're going to think, what's going to happen.

“But, I don't blame them. It's the media that put that picture in their heads so they're just going to have it and it, it's going to make them feel uncomfortable. I was kind of scared right now.

Police are investigating whether the incident at the university in Columbus, Ohio, was related to terrorism.

Authorities have reportedly raided an address associated with the suspect and identified a Facebook post in which he made a 'declaration'.

While cops investigated claims there were multiple shooters, they quickly confirmed the scene was secure at around 11:30am local time.