An armed man suspected of attempting an attack on an FBI building in Cincinnati was shot and killed by police. Ricky Shiffer, 42, was wearing body armor, was shot after raising a gun toward law enforcement officials Thursday afternoon, Politico reports. The chase began when the Ohio State Highway Patrol responded on Interstate 71, where Shiffer was traveling after fleeing the FBI field office. Officers located him in his vehicle around 9:30 a.m. in what turned into a car chase once troopers pulled up behind him. Shiffer turned onto a side road, left his vehicle and exchanged gunfire with officers. “Throughout the afternoon troopers and our law enforcement partners attempted to negotiate with the suspect to bring the standoff to a peaceful end,” the state patrol said. ".. the suspect raised a firearm and shots were fired by law enforcement officers."
Before leading FBI officials on a car chase, Shiffer was allegedly brandishing multiple weapons at the scene of the attempted attack. Shiffer may have taken part in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol, the Associated Press reports. The motivations behind Thursday's attack were unknown, but it occurred a day after FBI Director Christopher Wray warned of violent threats against law enforcement. Wray called threats of violence against law enforcement “dangerous” and “deplorable.” Brian O’Hare, president of the FBI Agents Association, called it an issue of “public safety and decency. He said, "The threats made recently contribute to an atmosphere where some have, or will, accept violence against law enforcement as appropriate. It is not,” O’Hare said. “This is not a partisan or political issue. ... Calls for violence against law enforcement are unacceptable, and should be condemned by all leaders.”