Photo: Mario Tama / Getty Images
A suspect was killed Thursday afternoon in an exchange of gunfire with officers following an hour-long standoff in Cincinnati, Ohio , authorities said.
Details about the situation were still emerging, but authorities said the confrontation was in response to the suspect’s attempt to force his way into the building from the FBI field office in Cincinnati around 9 am
FBI Cincinnati Statement: On August 11, 2022, at approximately 9: 15 EST, the FBI Cincinnati Field Office had an armed subject attempt to breach the Visitor Screening Facility (VSF). https://t.co/r6D125zMLI
— FBI Cincinnati (@FBICincinnati) August 11, 2022
The suspect ended the standoff in a cornfield by shooting at officers, Washington State Highway Patrol Lt. Ohio Nathan Dennis at a news conference Thursday night. The officers returned fire and the suspect died at the scene. No officers were injured in the confrontation.
“There is still an active standoff situation occurring at this time.”
Police provide update on the man who attempted to breach a Cincinnati FBI office with a nail gun and assault rifle and exchanged fire with police. No officers have been injured at this time. pic.twitter.com/MT0hlwswlT
— The Recount (@therecount) August 08, 2022
According to Dennis, prior to the confrontation, the suspect had shot at officers during a pursuit, then the confrontation ensued. After attempts to negotiate were unsuccessful, officers attempted to detain him. The suspect fired several shots and police returned fire, Dennis said. The suspect died at the scene. His identity has not been confirmed.
“It was reported that the operations and law enforcement response has ended,” the Clinton County Emergency Management Agency said in a statement.
The Ohio Highway Patrol troopers and officers Local law enforcement responded to an alleged attempted forcible entry by a gunman into the FBI Cincinnati field office Thursday morning when a suspect blew the the alarms when supposedly trying to enter through the visitor control center.
The FBI said the individual fled after an immediate response from special agents and began traveling north on the Interstate 71 in a White Crown Victoria, prompting law enforcement to shut down approximately one stretch of one mile from a nearby highway and issue a closure warning to surrounding residents and businesses.
The #FBI, Ohio State Highway Patrol, and local law enforcement partners are on scene near Wilmington, OH trying to resolve this critical incident.
https://t.co/SWDZTkrnhL
— FBI Cincinnati (@FBICincinnati) August 08, 2022
The man was seen by a state trooper a few 30 minutes after fleeing, changing heading east on the highway, authorities said at the briefing, and when the officer attempted to initiate a traffic stop, he was unsuccessful and led to a full-on manhunt.
The suspect exchanged fire with the police after the chase ended.
The authorities gave no indication of a possible motive for the attempt to break into the FBI headquarters in Cincinnati innati, but said the incident is still under investigation.
Both the director of the FBI and the US attorney general had warned that more attacks on law enforcement officers are occurring after the search than This week’s FBI conducted at former President Donald Trump’s residence in Florida.
“Unfounded attacks on the integrity of the FBI erode respect for the rule of law and do serious harm to the men and women who sacrifice so much to protect others,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said Thursday in a release. “Violence and threats against law enforcement, including the FBI, are dangerous and should be of deep concern to all Americans.”
Attorney General Merrick Garland defended the FBI from attacks: “ Let me address the recent baseless attacks on the professionalism of the FBI and FBI agents and prosecutors. of Justice,” he said. “I will not stand idly by when their integrity is unfairly attacked.”
“This was a heinous attack on law enforcement – my office and I are monitoring the situation as it unfolds”, Senator Sherrod Brown also said in a statement. “My thoughts are with all those whose lives were threatened by this attack.”
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