WILMINGTON, Ohio (AP) – A gunman dressed in body armor who tried to break into the FBI office in Cincinnati on Thursday was killed by police after he fled the scene and an hours-long standoff in a rural part of the state, the Ohio State Highway Patrol said.
The confrontation came as officials warned of an increase in threats against federal agents in the days following the search of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
The man is believed to have been in Washington in the days leading up to the Jan. 6, 2021, uprising and may have been present at the Capitol on the day of the attack, according to a law enforcement official briefed on the matter. The official could not discuss details of the investigation publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The suspect was identified as Ricky Shiffer, 42, according to the law enforcement official. He was not charged with any crime in connection with the Jan. 6 attack, the official said. Federal investigators are looking into whether Shiffer may have had ties to far-right extremist groups, including the Proud Boys, the official said.
Shiffer “attempted to breach” the visitor screening area at the FBI office around 9:15 a.m. and fled when agents confronted him, according to authorities’ account of the incident federal After fleeing onto Interstate 71, he was spotted by an officer and fired as the trooper chased him, Ohio State Highway Patrol spokesman Lt. Nathan Dennis said at a news conference in press
Shiffer exited the interstate north of Cincinnati with police in pursuit and got out of his car on a country road. He exchanged gunfire with police and was wounded, though no one else was injured, Dennis said. A separate statement from the highway patrol said Shiffer had used his car for cover during the confrontation.
Shiffer was shot after he raised a gun at police around 3:45 p.m. Thursday, Dennis said. The fatal encounter with police came after negotiations broke down and police tried unsuccessfully to use “less lethal tactics,” Dennis said, without providing details.
State highway workers blocked roads leading to the scene while a helicopter flew over the area. Officials closed a mile radius near the interstate and urged residents and business owners to lock their doors and stay inside.
In recent days, there have been increasing threats against FBI agents and offices across the country after federal agents executed a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago. On Gab, a social networking site popular with white supremacists and anti-Semites, users have warned that they are preparing for an armed revolution.
Federal officials have also been monitoring a number of other chats linked to Gab and other platforms that threaten violence against federal agents. FBI Director Christopher Wray reported the threats while visiting another FBI office in Nebraska on Wednesday.
“Violence against law enforcement is not the answer, no matter who you’re upset with,” Wray said Wednesday in Omaha.
On Wednesday, the FBI also warned its agents to avoid potential protesters and to ensure their security key cards were “not visible outside of FBI space,” citing an increase in cyber threats social security to office staff and facilities.
The warning did not specifically mention this week’s Mar-a-Lago search, instead attributing the online threats to “recent media reports of FBI investigative activity.”
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Welsh-Huggins reported from Columbus, Ohio. Associated Press writers Michael Balsamo in Washington and Jim Mustian in New York contributed to this report.