Ohio FBI Attacker Killed By Police After Hours-Long Standoff, Authorities Say

CLINTON COUNTY, OH — The man who attacked an FBI office, exchanged gunfire with police and engaged in an hours-long standoff before eventually being killed by law enforcement is believed to have been a supporter of former president Donald Trump who was at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, according to reports.

The man, identified by law enforcement to multiple news outlets as Ricky Shiffer, appears to have been an active user of Truth Social, Trump’s social media platform, according to screenshots from an account of the same name circulating on social media, which NBC News reported having seen but has since become unavailable.

In the screenshotted posts, which, according to NBC, were published following the FBI’s execution of a search warrant Monday at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, Shiffer encouraged fellow Truth Social users to “be ready for combat,” “respond with force” and “kill the FBI on sight.”

Shiffer appeared to post again Thursday on Truth Social after the failed attack but before the final confrontation with police.

“Well, I thought I had a way through bullet proof glass, and I didn’t,” said a screenshotted post circulating on social media. “If you don’t hear from me, it is true I tried attacking the F.B.I., and it’ll mean either I was taken off the internet, the F.B.I. got me, or they sent the regular cops while”

The attacker fired a nail gun Thursday while at the visitor screening facility of the FBI’s Cincinnati field office, according to NBC. He then fled in a white Ford Crown Victoria on Interstate 71, was eventually pursued by state police, and a gunshot was fired from inside his car, law enforcement said at a press conference streamed on Facebook by FOX19.

The man exited the interstate and eventually led police to Smith Road in rural Clinton County, about 40 miles northeast of the FBI office, according to law enforcement, where he exchanged gunfire with officers. He was wearing body armor, authorities said.

What followed was an hours-long standoff within a police perimeter, authorities said, adding negotiations and attempts to bring the man into custody with “less lethal tactics” both failed. About 3:45 p.m., the man raised a gun, according to law enforcement, and was shot by police and died at the scene.

“Unfounded attacks on the integrity of the FBI erode respect for the rule of law and are a grave disservice to the men and women who sacrifice so much to protect others,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said Thursday in a prepared statement. “Violence and threats against law enforcement, including the FBI, are dangerous and should be deeply concerning to all Americans.”

Police cars and tape were visible Thursday night around a Columbus address thought to be linked to Shiffer, the New York Times reported.

The standoff resulted in a lockdown within a 1-mile radius of the scene, authorities said. I-71 and State Route 73 were both closed for hours.