A gunman trying to break into the FBI headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio, on Thursday was shot dead by police after a car chase, a shootout and an argument in a cornfield northeast of the city, officials said.
Police have yet to identify the dead man and declined to comment on his motive at a press conference. The New York Times and NBC News, citing anonymous sources, identified him as Ricky Shiffer, 42, who may have far-right views.
A man by that name has warned of an attack on Truth Social, the digital platform created by former US President Donald Trump.
The message read, “If you haven’t heard from me, it’s true that I tried to attack the FBI and that means either I was taken off the internet, the FBI caught me or they sent regular cops…” .
Posts, including others expressing extremist views, were removed shortly after police told reporters that the Cincinnati suspect had been killed.
Citing two unnamed officials familiar with the matter, NBC News said the suspect was at the US Capitol building in Washington at the time of the attack by Trump supporters on January 6, 2021.
Citing two police officers familiar with the matter, The New York Times reported that investigators were investigating whether he had ties to extremist groups.
FBI agents have been the target of online threats since Trump searched his property in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, as part of an investigation into documents removed from the White House after the then-president left office in January 2021.
Describing violent domestic extremism as the top security threat to the country, FBI Director Christopher Wray issued a statement condemning “baseless attacks on the integrity of the FBI” following Thursday’s events.
The Ohio incident began Thursday when the suspect unsuccessfully attempted to break into the FBI’s visitor screening facility. The FBI said he then fled the area in a white vehicle, heading north on Interstate 71.
Nathan Dennis, spokesman for the Ohio State Highway Patrol, said at a news conference that a chase had begun and the suspect fired his gun at a state trooper.
The vehicle was stopped in Clinton County and exchanged fire between the suspect and police, before a lengthy argument ended when the suspect was shot six hours after the first attack in Cincinnati.
(Reported by Kanishka Singh in Washington, Brendan O’Brien in Chicago, and Daniel Trotta in Carlsbad, California)
source: Noticias
[author_name]
