An armed suspect who tried to breach a secure area at the FBI field office in Ohio, led police on a chase, and exchanged gunfire with officers was shot and killed by police after an hourslong standoff, Ohio Highway State Patrol said.
Multiple reports have identified the suspect as Ricky Walter Shiffer. Law enforcement is reportedly investigating whether he was involved in the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
The suspect was shot after he raised a gun toward police, patrol spokesperson Lt. Nathan Dennis said during a press conference.
Multiple federal, state, and law enforcement agencies were on scene where a standoff with the suspect was underway, Ohio State Highway Patrol tweeted earlier.
The standoff with the armed suspect, who was wearing body armor, lasted for more than six hours in a rural field in Wilmington, Ohio. It wasn't immediately clear whether the suspect was in custody.
A spokesperson for Ohio State Highway Patrol or the FBI Cincinnati office could not be reached for comment.
Ohio State Highway Patrol said it responded to Interstate 71 in an attempt to locate an armed suspect who fled from the FBI Cincinnati Field Office.
At approximately 9 a.m., an armed subject attempted to breach the Visitor Screening Facility at FBI Cincinnati, according to tweet from FBI Cincinnati's account.
Unconfirmed information shared internally among agents suggested the suspect possibly brandished a nail gun and an AR-15 style rifle, the source said.
Troopers located the suspect's vehicle, a Ford Crown Victoria, near the northbound Interstate 71 rest area in Warren County around 9:37 a.m.
Law enforcement pursued, and the suspect traveled about 60 miles northwest before the pursuit ended at I-71 and Hwy 73.
State Highway Patrol said shots were fired from within the suspect's vehicle. The pursuit continued on Interstate 71 until the suspect exited at state Route 73, traveling eastbound before turning onto Smith Road, Ohio State Highway Patrol said.
The suspect's vehicle came to a stop around 9:53 a.m. on Smith Road near Van Trees Road in Clinton County. Ohio State Highway Patrol said the suspect exited the vehicle and exchanged gunfire with officers.
It was not immediately clear if the suspect had been injured. State Highway Patrol said no officers or bystanders were injured. The incident remains a "standoff situation" at this time.
Fox News Digital reached out to FBI Cincinnati for more information. An FBI spokeswoman said by phone they did not immediately have any comment.
In an email to Fox News Digital, Ohio State Highway Patrol later confirmed it "is currently investigating an active incident near Interstate 71 and state Route 73 in Clinton County."
"The #FBI, Ohio State Highway Patrol, and local law enforcement partners are on scene near Wilmington, OH trying to resolve this critical incident," FBI Cincinnati tweeted.
Another law enforcement source told Fox News that the FBI office is now secure and safe after the incident.
WLWT had also confirmed a potential threat at the FBI Cincinnati Field Office.
According to the outlet, the FBI said the suspect was armed but would not disclose with what type of weapon.
Clinton County Emergency Management Agency sent out an alert announcing a lockdown in effect for all buildings within a 1-mile radius of the intersection at Smith Road and Center Road.
Ricky Shiffer has Truth Social account
[Cincinnati.com] Two days previously, the account in Shiffer's name posted angry messages about the FBI
...Formerly one of the world's premier criminal investigation organizations, something for a nation to be proud of. Now it's a political arm of the Deep State oligarchy that is willing to trump up charges, suppress evidence, or take out insurance policies come election time...search Monday at Trump's home and club Mar-a-Lago.
On Tuesday afternoon, the Shiffer account posted:
"I'm having trouble getting information, but Viva Frei said patriots are heading to Palm Beach (where Mar A Lago is). I recommend going, and being Florida, I think the feds won't break it up. IF they do, kill them." (Viva Frei is a right-wing YouTube personality.)
The same day, the account posted:
"People, this is it. I hope a call to arms comes from someone better qualified, but if not, this is your call to arms from me. Leave work tomorrow as soon as the gun shop/Army-Navy store/pawn shop opens, get whatever you need to be ready for combat. We must not tolerate this one."
The post concluded:
"This time we must respond with force. If you know of any protests or attacks, please post here."
The Truth Social account, before it was disabled Thursday evening, said Shiffer was a construction mechanic in Columbus, Ohio, which is about 100 miles from the FBI Cincinnati office. A search of public records identified a 42-year-old Ricky Shiffer in Columbus.
The Truth bio also suggested Shiffer was at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 and made a reference to Ray Epps, a man at the center of a January 6 conspiracy theory:
"I tried to explain to Epps that it would only make sense to go into the building if they approved the fraudulent votes," the bio reads.
Shiffer was not charged in relation to the insurrection, according to a USA TODAY effort to track those prosecutions, and does not appear in a Justice Department index of the prosecutions.
A Twitter account in the name of Ricky Shiffer, with a photo of a man who closely resembles the photo in the Truth Social profile, was also suspended on Thursday evening.