KNOX COUNTY, Ohio — Two brothers were fatally shot by law enforcement officers after firing shots at officers from inside a home Friday night, according to Knox County Sheriff David Shaffer.
According to Captain Jay Sheffer with the Knox County Sheriff's Office, shots were fired at a vehicle from a property on Gilchrist Road in Monroe Township around 11:30 p.m. on Friday.
Shaffer said Sunday a bail bondsman called dispatchers reporting it was his vehicle that had been fired at by 56-year-old Randy Wilhelm.
Shaffer said the bondsman was trying to arrest Wilhelm, who failed to appear in Knox County Common Pleas Court on a $100,000 bond.
According to Knox County Common Pleas Court records, Wilhelm had been charged in 2020 with domestic violence, felonious assault, bribery, menacing by stalking and intimidation of an attorney in a criminal case.
Pilots with the Ohio State Highway Patrol responded to the scene using night vision equipment. The pilots reported two people were firing rifles at them.
As the incident was happening, a propane truck was moved and parked next to a home on the property. Shaffer said Wilhelm had previously stated he would use a propane tanker as a bomb if law enforcement officers tried to arrest him.
"Wilhelm was a well-known trap shooter and proficient marksman," Shaffer wrote in a press release.
Around 9:20 a.m., Randy Wilhelm and his brother, 53-year-old Bradley Wilhelm, were traveling in what Shaffer described as a side-by-side ATV in the direction of officers who were outside of an armored vehicle.
Both men were armed at the time, according to the sheriff's office. Sheffer said an officer-involved shooting occurred when law enforcement attempted to initiate a traffic stop.
Law enforcement officers came to the scene with a search warrant that had been issued by Mount Vernon Municipal Court for Randy Wilhelm and weapons he was not allowed to possess. Shaffer says detectives received information from multiple sources that Randy had a stockpile of firearms and ammunition. Authorities also say Randy made threats stating he would not be arrested.
Sheffer did not say what law enforcement agencies the officers are associated with.
Sheffer said no officers were injured.
Residents in the area were initially advised to shelter in place, but that advisory has since been lifted.
One person from inside the home was safely removed from the home prior to the shooting and another was safely removed afterwards.
The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is investigating the incident.