The suspect, however, is not in custody, according to the Clinton County Emergency Management Agency, and a lockdown remains in effect for a one-mile radius around the intersection of Smith Road and Center Road.
“Remain vigilant and if you are in the area, report anything suspicious to 911,” a post of the agency’s Facebook said, describing the armed suspect as someone wearing “a gray shirt and body armor.”
The warning follows an incident Thursday morning at the FBI’s Cincinnati office, where “an armed subject attempt to breach” the facility’s Visitor Screening Facility around 9:15 a.m. ET, the FBI in Cincinnati said in a statement.
“Upon the activation of an alarm and a response by armed FBI special agents, the subject fled northbound onto Interstate 71,” the statement said. “The FBI, Ohio State Highway Patrol, and local law enforcement partners are on scene near Wilmington, OH trying to resolve this critical incident.”
A federal law enforcement source told CNN the suspect was believed to be armed with a nail gun and AR-15. Another federal law enforcement source with knowledge of the incident told CNN that FBI facilities around the country are reviewing their security posture in the wake of the incident.
Interstate 71 remains closed in both directions between US 68 and State Route 73, the county’s emergency management said, and State Route 73 is closed between State Route 380 and Mitchell Road
CNN has reached out to the Ohio State Highway Patrol for more information. CNN has also reached out to the FBI Cincinnati field office.