Armed Man Tries to Breach FBI’s Cincinnati Office Before Fleeing Scene

An armed individual made an effort to breach the visitors area of the FBI’s Cincinnati Field Office on Thursday, an agency rep confirmed in a statement.

In a public statement, the FBI said an “armed subject” attempted to breach the office’s visitor screening facility. Once an alarm was triggered and special agents responded, the individual is said to have attempted to flee, with additional agencies—including the Ohio State Highway Patrol—having ultimately also gotten involved with the response to what the FBI has described as a “critical incident.”

Meanwhile, a report from the Associated Press adds that the armed man was also wearing body armor and later “exchanged gunfire” with local law enforcement officers following a chase onto a nearby interstate. 

Word of the Cincinnati standoff arrives following this week’s headlines-dominating FBI search of former president Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. In comments to reporters on Wednesday, FBI director Christopher Wray addressed concerns surrounding threats of violence in response to the raid, which has been met by many on the far-right with public criticism and calls for defunding.

“Violence against law enforcement is not the answer, no matter who you’re upset with,” Wray said at the time, per NPR.

When reached for comment by Complex on Thursday afternoon, a rep for the Ohio State Highway Patrol confirmed that troopers had responded to Interstate 71 as part of an effort to find “an armed suspect” who had fled from the FBI’s Cincinnati Field Office. After the vehicle later came to a stop, police said, the man is said to have “exited the vehicle and engaged officers, where gunfire was exchanged.” The rep added that the suspect has “unknown injuries,” although no others were believed to have been injured. Multiple agencies were still on the scene in response to the standoff, a rep said at the time of this writing.