Gunman who tried to breach FBI Ohio office killed by police in stand-off

Incident came amid vitriol from right-wing media and Trump supporters

Police closed off Interstate 71 North after a suspect attempted to attack the FBI building, in Cincinnati, Ohio. Reuters

An armed man who fled after attempting to breach an FBI office in Ohio was killed in a stand-off with police, US authorities said on Thursday.

The incident came amid widespread outrage in right-wing circles over an FBI raid on former president Donald Trump's Florida home, although there was no immediate indication the events were linked.

The FBI said a person armed with a weapon had tried to “breach” the entry to the bureau's office in the city of Cincinnati early on Thursday.

“Upon the activation of an alarm and a response by armed FBI special agents, the subject fled,” the FBI said in a statement.

Local media reported that the man had fired a nail gun and brandished an AR-15-style rifle before fleeing by car.

A police spokesman said the vehicle was pursued by law enforcement and that it stopped in a rural area.

“Once the vehicle came to a stop, gunfire was exchanged between officers on the scene and the suspect,” the spokesman said.

Officers then attempted to negotiate with the man, but he did not surrender, the spokesman told a press conference after the stand-off ended.

After the man raised a weapon to the police, officers shot him and “he succumbed to his injuries at the scene”, the spokesman said.

Supporters of former US president Donald Trump gather outside his Mar-a-Lago home in Palm Beach, Florida, after he said FBI agents raided it. Reuters

A supporter of Mr Trump holds a flag and an old newspaper outside the former president's Mar-a-Lago home. Reuters

The FBI searched the estate as part of an investigation into whether the former US leader took classified records from the White House to his Florida residence. The Palm Beach Post / AP

Despite the January 6 hearings and an FBI raid, some still believe that Mr Trump won the 2020 election. AFP

Supporters gathered outside Mar-a-Lago in Florida as it was was being searched by FBI agents in what Mr Trump called an act of 'prosecutorial misconduct'. AFP

Trump supporters in Palm Beach, Florida outside Mar-a-Lago on Monday night. Reuters

It is claimed that the former US president took documents from the White House and disposed of them at Mar-a-Lago. AFP

Mr Trump was in New York when the search took place. Reuters

Mr Trump alleges that no other president has been subjected to such treatment. AFP

A member of the far-right Proud Boys group outside Mar-a-Lago. Reuters

Mr Trump compared the FBI raid to Watergate. AFP

FBI Director Christopher Wray on Wednesday denounced threats made against the agency following the raid on Mr Trump's residence, calling them “deplorable and dangerous”.

“Violence against law enforcement is not the answer no matter who you're upset with,” Mr Wray said.

The FBI and Justice Department have declined so far to publicly provide a reason for Monday's raid on Mr Trump's palatial Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida.

Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday spoke briefly to confirm he had “personally approved the decision to seek a search warrant” and that the Justice Department had requested a federal court to unseal the warrant.

He also condemned any attacks on federal law enforcement.

“I will not stand by silently when their integrity is unfairly attacked,” Mr Garland said.

“They protect the American people from violent crime, terrorism and other threats to their safety while safeguarding our civil rights.”

Agence France-Presse contributed to this report