Ohio FBI shooting - latest: ‘Violent extremist’ Ricky Shiffer investigated for months after Jan 6

Standoff with police ended with suspect being shot

Eric Trump blames Biden administration after FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago

Cincinnati shooting suspect Ricky Shiffer was shot dead by police on the side of an interstate highway hours after he attempted to breach a visitor’s entrance at an FBI field office in the city.

The 42-year-old, of Columbus, Ohio, fled the scene of the attempted attack on Thursday morning before a standoff and shootout took place hours later. The FBI confirmed his death at 3.45pm following an exchange of gunfire.

Officials are investigating Shiffer’s ties to the US Capitol riot and right wing extremism as he appears to have claimed that he was present in Washington on 6 January on Truth Social, a pro-Trump social media site.

Federal agents were already looking into Shiffer’s ties to the Capitol attack before the FBI standoff, the New York Times reports.

Shiffer also appeared to support Donald Trump’s unfounded claims of a stolen election in 2020 and responded to social media posts by pro-Trump figures such as congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene and Donald Trump Jr.

His social media posts made reference to the FBI’s search at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida on Monday.

Key points

• Armed man who threatened FBI office in Ohio shot by police
• Dramatic shoot-out and car chase after FBI office threatened
• FBI probing Ohio shooter’s social media presence, ties to right-wing extremism
• Will Merrick Garland address Ohio FBI standoff?
• Former agent warns of copycat attacks on FBI

[14 August 2022 01:03 · Graeme Massie]

What was FBI searching for in Trump raid that angered Ricky Shiffer?

ICYMI: Ohio gunman Ricky Shiffer appears to have been inspired to violence after the FBI searched Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence for evidence in an investigation into his White House’s handling of government documents.

Here’s Andrew Feinberg’s report on what the FBI uncovered in the search.

[14 August 2022 05:00 · Peony Hirwani]

Ohio FBI shooting suspect under investigation as ‘suspected domestic violent extremist’, report says

ICYMI: Ricky Shiffer, the 42-year-old suspect who attacked an FBI field office in Ohio, has been considered a “suspected domestic violent extremist” by investigators, reports say.

A law enforcement official told ABC News on Friday that Shiffer was being investigated as a “suspected domestic violent extremist” and that his social media history was under investigation following the attack on an FBI office on Thursday.

Gino Spocchia has the full story:

[14 August 2022 07:00 · Peony Hirwani]

Ricky Shiffer served in Navy and fought in Iraq

ICYMI: Ricky Shiffer, the Ohio man who died in an armed standoff with police on Thursday after attacking an FBI field office in Cincinnati, was a military veteran.

The 42-year-old served in the Navy on a nuclear submarine and later in the National Guard, Military.com reports.

The Ohio man enlisted in the Navy soon after high school, The Washington Post reports.

Shiffer grew up on a small family farm in Perry County, Pennsylvania, near the Susquehanna River, the oldest of four siblings.

An unnamed family member told the Post that Shiffer was a “very intelligent but quiet person.”

Josh Marcus has the full report:

[14 August 2022 09:00 · Peony Hirwani]

Old acquaintances say Ricky Shiffer had an ‘anger issue’ and ‘got picked up by the wrong crowd'

ICYMI: Now that officials have identified Ricky Shiffer of Ohio as the man who attacked a Cincinnati FBI office on Thursday, those who knew the gunman, who was killed by police, are starting to share their recollections.

Ian McConnell was Shiffer’s neighbour in the Greystone Apartments complex in Columbus, Ohio, where Shiffer lived between 2017 and 2020.

Shiffer was slightly odd but didn’t raise any alarm bells, Mr McConnell told the Cincinnati Enquirer.

“We knew he was a bit off,” McConnell said. “He had a little bit of an anger issue about his car, but who doesn’t?”

The former neighbour said he was shocked to learn what happened to Shiffer, who moved away from Columbus with stated aspirations to live out West.

“It was a shock to us he wound up in Cincinnati,” Mr McConnell said. “I’m afraid this is coming two years too late and Ricky got picked up by the wrong crowd.”

[14 August 2022 11:00 · Peony Hirwani]

Officials were aware of Ohio gunman for months ahead of FBI attack

ICYMI: Federal officials were looking into Ricky Shiffer for months, long before the Ohio gunman attacked an FBI office in Cincinnati on Thursday and was killed in a firefight with police.

Officials were looking into whether Shiffer was involved in the January 6 attack on the US Capitol or tied to extremist groups there, the New York Times reports.

A neighbour told the Times that federal agents had showed up at their apartment complex and asked questions.

Social media accounts appearing to belong to Shiffer posted about being at the January 6 riot.

[14 August 2022 13:00 · Peony Hirwani]

Suspect was registered Republican, records show

ICYMI: Public records show that Ohio FBI attack suspect Ricky Shiffer was a registered Republican who voted in the 2020 primary and general election from Ohio and Oklahoma.

The 42-year-old, who social media posts appeared to show was an ardent support of Donald Trump, also appears in court records in Ohio following a lawsuit filed by the Ohio Department of Taxation.

Josh Marcus has more: