WHITEHALL, Ohio (WCMH) – The Ohio governor shared his thoughts Monday morning after a man tried to break into an Ohio FBI office while armed.
Gov. Mike DeWine gave comments about the standoff while he was visiting the Whitehall Police Department to announce an increase in funds for law enforcement through the Ohio Violent Crime Reduction Grant Program.
“Whether it’s local law enforcement or federal law enforcement … this is something that is very scary,” DeWine said. “Just a horrible, horrible thing, and so we certainly denounce that type of activity.”
The governor mentioned that police, the FBI and other agencies like the DEA are constantly “under attack.” The FBI itself has faced threats in the days since agents conducted a search at former President Donald Trump’s Mar-A-Lago home. DeWine also took a moment to acknowledge another form of attack on law enforcement, referencing a deputy-involved shooting in Ohio.
“As you know, we lost a police officer in Clark County, a few days ago,” DeWine said. “What I emphasized then is the danger of being a law enforcement officer. When that officer pulls a car over, and they don’t know if that person has a gun or doesn’t have a gun. … We have to back up our law enforcement.”
The suspect in the FBI incident, Ricky Shiffer, reportedly walked into the agency’s visitor screening center in Cincinnati, fired a nail gun and held up an assault rifle before getting away in a car. Federal agents and local law enforcement chased him on Interstate 71 before getting in two shootouts near an overpass. That extended into a six-hour standoff, which ended ultimately when law enforcement killed Shiffer.