Dramatic shoot-out after armed man threatened FBI office in Ohio and led police on car chase
Man enters federal building and fires nail gun at law enforcement before taking out assault rifle, reporter says
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There’s an ongoing standoff in Ohio after an armed man made threats at an FBI office in Cincinnati and led police on a car chase.
NBC News reporter Ken Dilanian said on MSNBC that “a man entered ... and fired a nail gun at law enforcement ... The man then held up an AR-15 style rifle before fleeing in a vehicle”.
He added: “A pursuit then occurred … Then the suspect got out of the car and there was a standoff.”
The Wilmington News Journal reported that police scanner traffic updates from the incident states that at 10am, the suspect, described as bald and wearing sunglasses, entered a cornfield and aimed a pistol at police, prompting law enforcement to set up a perimeter.
Ambulances from the Wilmington fire department were stationed close to the area of the standoff by 10.03am, an update said.
Two minutes later, the suspect is reported to have reached inside his vehicle.
The police chase prompted the shutdowns of several roadways.
I-71 and State Routes 68, 73, and 380 were closed down in both directions and Clinton County is on lockdown, according to WLWT.
Ohio State Highway Patrol set off in a pursuit that led into Clinton County. Residents and business owners were told to lock all doors and stay inside.
Officials from the Clinton County Emergency Management Agency said that police had exchanged gunfire with the suspect. He’s reportedly wearing a grey shirt wearing body armour. He was initially wearing an orange shirt.
Shortly before 12pm on Thursday, FBI Cincinnati tweeted that “at approximately 9 AM this morning an armed subject attempted to breach the Visitor Screening Facility at #FBI Cincinnati. After an alarm and a response by FBI special agents, the subject fled north onto Interstate 71”.
“The #FBI, Ohio State Highway Patrol, and local law enforcement partners are on scene near Wilmington, OH trying to resolve this critical incident,” the agency added.
At 10.11am, Clinton County EMA reported that shots had been fired, according to the Wilmington News Journal.
Nine minutes later, the suspect was reportedly sitting on the ground behind his car while a SWAT team was arriving.
At 10.24am, a police scanner update said that the suspect had “blood splatter on his shorts” in the “right thigh area”.
“Part of windshield shot out”, the update said, adding that the suspect was on his knees holding a rifle.
Two negotiators from the FBI were reported to be arriving at the scene at 10.32am.
At 12.02pm, the Red Cross had set up near the scene, according to The Journal.
It’s not clear if the standoff is related to the FBI raid of former President Donald Trump’s private Florida club Mar-a-Lago, but the incident comes after some have been employing violent and threatening rhetoric against federal agents.
FBI Director Christopher Wray, appointed by Mr Trump in 2017, has said that threats against agents and the Department of Justice are “deplorable and dangerous”.
“I’m always concerned about threats to law enforcement,” Mr Wray added. “Violence against law enforcement is not the answer, no matter who you’re upset with.”
At 1.15pm, an officer told reporters that the incident was still “ongoing”.
Around 1.30pm, Ohio Highway Patrol spokesman Nathan Dennis told reporters that “at this time, no officers have been injured as a result of this. The scene is still active and there's still an active standoff situation”.
“The situation is contained to a certain area. There is a perimeter set up within that area,” he said, adding “There is no public risk to anything outside of that area”.
“As of right now, I can't positively identify the suspect or his injuries if there are any,” he said.
“At 9.15 this morning, a male subject attempted to gain entry into the FBI field office in Cincinnati. He was armed. He was unsuccessful and he fled that area. The FBI then contacted us to let us know what had occurred and what type of vehicle he had ... He was travelling in a white Ford Crown Victoria,” Mr Dennis told the press.
“In Warren County, one of our troopers did spot the vehicle and attempted to initiate a traffic stop. This was at 9.37 this morning,” he added. “A pursuit ensued.”
“It continued northbound on 71. The suspect vehicle did fire shots during that pursuit. The vehicle then exited on State Route 73 and went east on State Route 73. They travelled east to Smith road. They went north on Smith road almost overtop of Interstate 71, where the vehicle came to a stop. Once the vehicle came to a stop, gunfire was exchanged between officers on scene and the suspect,” Mr Dennis said.
The Wilmington News Journal reported that at 2.01pm that the suspect was lying on his stomach as negotiations continued and he watched a police “robot” approach.
At 2.06pm, Clinton County authorities announced that I-71 was being reopened while State Routes 73 and 380 and Mitchell road remained shut down.
State Highway Patrol has said that the suspect has suffered “unknown injuries”.
At 3.43pm, The Journal reported hearing chatter on police scanners including the words “sniper off gun”. They also noted there was movement being conducted by law enforcement.
More follows...