A standoff and exchange of gunfire occurred in the US state of Ohio after an armed man decked out in body armour tried to breach a security screening area at an FBI field office.
The man was injured in the standoff with law enforcement and fled the scene, authorities said on Thursday (local time).
The confrontation at the FBI’s Cincinnati field office came as officials warned of an increase in threats against federal agents in the days following a search of former US President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
Officials said the man “attempted to breach” the visitor’s screening area at the FBI office and fled when agents confronted him. He was chased onto Interstate 71, and a shot was fired from his car, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
The suspect left the interstate and abandoned his car on nearby roads, where he exchanged gunfire with police. The man has “unknown injuries,” but no-one else was hurt, the patrol said.
Officials in Ohio locked down an area near the interstate and urged residents and business owners to lock their doors and stay inside. The interstate has since been re-opened.
There have been growing threats in recent days against FBI agents and offices across the country since federal agents executed a search warrant at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home. On Gab, a social media site popular with white supremacists and anti-semites, users have warned they are preparing for an armed revolution.
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