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COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A gunman who died in a shootout after trying to get inside the FBI's Cincinnati office apparently went on social media and called for federal agents to be killed "on sight" following the search at former President Donald Trump's home, a law enforcement official said.
Federal investigators are examining social media accounts they believe are tied to the gunman, 42-year-old Ricky Shiffer, according to the official, who was not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
At least one of the messages on Trump's Truth Social media platform appeared to have been posted after Shiffer tried to breach the FBI office. It read: "If you don't hear from me, it is true I tried attacking the F.B.I."
Another message posted on the same site this week from @rickywshifferjr included a "call to arms" and urged people to "be ready for combat" after the FBI search at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
Authorities also are looking into whether Shiffer, a Navy veteran, had ties to far-right extremist groups such as the Proud Boys, the official said.
Shiffer was armed with a nail gun and an AR-15-style rifle when he tried to breach the visitor screening area at the FBI office Thursday, according to the official. Shiffer fled when agents confronted him.
He was later spotted by a state trooper along a highway and got into a gunbattle that ended with police killing him, authorities said.
The burst of violence unfolded amid FBI warnings that federal agents could face attacks following the search in Florida.
The FBI is investigating what happened in Cincinnati as an act of domestic extremism, according to the law enforcement official.
Shiffer is believed to have been in Washington in the days leading up to the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and may have been at the Capitol that day but was not charged with any crimes in connection with the riot, the official said.