WILMINGTON, Ohio—An armed man clad in body armor who tried to breach the FBI’s Cincinnati office on Thursday was shot and killed by police after he fled the scene and engaged in an hourslong standoff in a rural part of the state, the Ohio State Highway Patrol said.
The suspect “attempted to breach” the visitor’s screening area at the FBI office at around 9:15 a.m. and fled when agents confronted him, according to federal authorities’ account of the incident. After fleeing onto Interstate 71, he was spotted by a trooper and fired shots as the trooper pursued him, said Lt. Nathan Dennis, an Ohio State Highway Patrol spokesperson, at a press conference.
The suspect left the interstate north of Cincinnati with police in pursuit, and got out of his car on a rural road. He exchanged gunfire with police and sustained injuries, although no one else was hurt, Dennis said. A separate highway patrol statement said Shiffer had used his car for cover during the standoff.
The suspect was shot after he raised a gun toward police at around 3:45 p.m. Thursday, Dennis said. The fatal encounter with police happened after negotiations failed and police tried unsuccessfully to use “less lethal tactics,” Dennis said, without providing details.
State highway workers blocked off roads leading to the scene as a helicopter flew over the area. Officials locked down a mile radius near the interstate and urged residents and business owners to lock doors and stay inside.
FBI Director Christopher Wray on Wednesday denounced alleged threats against FBI agents and offices.
“Violence against law enforcement is not the answer, no matter who you’re upset with,” Wray said Wednesday in Omaha.
The FBI on Wednesday also warned its agents to avoid protesters and ensure their security key cards are “not visible outside FBI space,” claiming an increase in social media threats to bureau personnel and facilities. It also warned agents to be aware of their surroundings and potential protesters.
The warning did not specifically mention this week’s raid at former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, but attributed the online threats to “recent media reporting on FBI investigative activity.”
