The man who fired a nail gun into an FBI Cincinnati building Thursday before he was killed by officers was at the Capitol on Jan. 6, officials said.
Two officials familiar with the matter identified the suspect as Ricky Walter Shiffer.
Officers fatally shot the suspect after failing to negotiate with him, Ohio State Police spokesman Lt. Nathan Dennis told reporters.
The man raised a gun and officers opened fire, Dennis said.
It wasn’t clear if he fired, Dennis said, nor was it clear who fired the fatal shot. The man was pronounced dead at the scene, which Dennis described as a rural area off Interstate 71.
No officers were injured and a potential motive is still under investigation, Dennis said.
Earlier, two law enforcement sources told NBC News that a man armed with an AR-15 style rifle got inside the FBI building and fired a nail gun toward personnel before fleeing in a car.
“At approximately 9:15 EST, the FBI Cincinnati Field Office had an armed subject attempt to breach the Visitor Screening Facility (VSF),” FBI Cincinnati said in a statement. “Upon the activation of an alarm and a response by armed FBI special agents, the subject fled northbound onto Interstate 71.”
Clinton County Emergency Management Agency alerted that Interstate 71 was closed in both directions in the area of the standoff at 1 pm The agency issued an update around 5 pm saying “law enforcement operations and response has ended.”
“Law enforcement has traded shots with a male suspect who is wearing a gray shirt and body armor,” the agency said in an initial statement, warning people nearby to stay inside and lock their doors. Ohio State Highway Patrol said the suspect had fired shots from a Ford Crown Victoria while he was being pursued by police.
Brian Murphy, a former official at the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI who’s now an executive at the open source intelligence firm Logically, told The Associate Press on Wednesday that his company has observed a large uptick in threats against FBI personnel and facilities on social media platforms since the FBI’s search of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Largo home.
FBI Director Christopher Wray on Wednesday decried Trump supporters who have been using violent rhetoric against law enforcement in the wake of the search.
“I’m always concerned about threats to law enforcement,” Wray said. “Violence against law enforcement is not the answer, no matter who you’re upset with.”
This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.
Associated Press and Antony Planas contributed.