Officers from Columbus Police arrested a man Wednesday night after he allegedly threatened an Ohio State student near High Street and 15th Avenue.

Brett Piersol, a third-year in business, said he was walking south on High near the Wexner Center for the Arts around 7:30 p.m. when a man approached him wielding a knife.

“I saw him and said, ‘Holy shit,’ and he said, ‘Yeah, that’s right holy shit,'” Piersol said. “I then walked across the street to avoid the guy.”

Afterward Piersol walked away, but the knife wielder followed him and confronted him again.

“He came out of nowhere,” Piersol said. “I think he walked around the back of the buildings to cut me off.”

This time, Piersol turned around and walked north toward 15th, ducking into A Slice of New York pizzeria, where he called the police.

Police arrived quickly and arrested the man, though they did not release his name. An officer at the scene said the suspect had three prior felony charges and was taken to the Franklin County Jail.

Piersol has decided not to press charges.

“I don’t want to get into all that,” he said. “I’m from a small town, so it was all pretty traumatizing.” 

Staff report