Ricky Shiffer, who attempted to breach FBI office, killed by law enforcement

Ricky Shiffer, an armed man who attempted to breach the Federal Bureau of Investigation or FBI’s office in Ohio’s Cincinnati on Thursday, has been shot dead by law enforcement, after an exchange of fire, the Associated Press reported, quoting officials.

The FBI said in a statement that the gunman tried to breach the Visitor Screening Facility of the bureau’s Cincinnati field office at 9.15 EST. The man fled when an alarm was activated and the FBI’s special agents responded. The suspect was chased onto Interstate 71, which was sealed at both ends. A standoff followed that lasted  hours. The FBI, the state highway patrol and the police were at the scene, the statement said.

Also Read: Standoff with armed suspect near FBI’s Cincinnati office ends: Everything to know

When negotiations with the armed suspect failed and officers tried to arrest him, he raised his gun and was shot dead, CNN reported quoting the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

The incident happened only a day after FBI director Christopher A Wray said there had been increased threats on the Internet against the bureau’s agents since the search at Mar-a-Lago,  former President Donal Trump’s mansion in Florida.

“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. Violence and threats against law enforcement, including the FBI, are dangerous and should be deeply concerning to all Americans, Wray said today.

Also Read: Attorney General Merrick Garland explains FBI raid on Trump’s Florida home

The FBI has asked its agents to be alert, avoid protesters and not have their security key cards visible “outside FBI space”. The FBI warning did not mention Mar-a-Lago, only saying that the increased threats were a response to “recent media reporting on FBI investigative activity.”

Associated Press reports that on a social media site called On Gab, frequented by white supremacists and antisemites, there have been declarations of an armed revolution.