WILMINGTON, Ohio — The video of the armed man who attempted to breach the FBI building in Cincinnatti last month being shot and killed has been released.
The man was shot and killed by police after a chase and a prolonged standoff, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol. The confrontation came as officials warned of an increase in threats against federal agents in the days following a 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, insurrection 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 crimes in connection with the Jan. 6 attack, the official said. Federal investigators are examining whether Shiffer may have had ties to far-right extremist groups, including the Proud Boys, the official said.
Shiffer “attempted to breach” the visitor’s screening area at the FBI office at around 9:15 a.m. on August 11 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.
Shiffer 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.
Shiffer 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.
During the long standoff, law enforcement officials attempted to negotiate with the suspect, the patrol said. Officials worked to take him into custody. Non-lethal tactics were used, but those proved unsuccessful as well, the patrol said.
Troopers said the suspect raised a firearm toward police, and shots were fired back by officers at the scene. The suspect was pronounced deceased at the scene around 3:40 p.m.
During the standoff, Clinton County Emergency Management issued a lockdown for all buildings within a 1-mile radius of Smith and Center roads. People in the area were told to lock their doors and remain inside.
Northbound and southbound I-71 was closed between US Route 68 and State Route 73, near Wilmington, and didn’t reopen until around 2 p.m.