From wire and staff reports
MOUNT VERNON — State authorities say more than 1,000 firearms and more than 140,000 rounds of ammunition were seized from the Knox County property where a weekend standoff ended with law enforcement shooting and killing two brothers.
UPDATE 8/22/22 6:53 a.m.: This article has been updated with new information throughout
Randy and Bradley Wilhelm were killed by police officers following a nine-hour standoff during which Randy Wilhelm threatened to explode a propane truck to avoid capture, authorities said.
The standoff began when Knox County sheriff’s deputies responded at 11:21 p.m. Friday to a report from a bail bondsman who said that his vehicle had been shot multiple times on Gilchrist Road by Randy Wilhelm, who the bondsman was trying to apprehend because he had failed to appear in Knox County Common Pleas Court on charges that included intimidation, menacing by stalking, bribery, felonious assault and domestic violence, Knox County Sheriff David Shaffer said.
An Ohio State Highway Patrol helicopter using night vision equipment flew over the property and the pilots reported that two people were firing rifles in their direction, Shaffer said.
Law enforcement agencies from several jurisdictions responded to the scene, some providing armored vehicles as authorities tried to negotiate with the people inside the home. Three of the vehicles were struck by gunfire from the two men, identified later as Randy Wilhelm, 56, and his 53-year-old brother, Bradley, Shaffer said.
Randy Wilhelm had previously threatened to use a propane tanker as a bomb if law enforcement attempted to apprehend him and, during the incident, Shaffer says a bulk propane truck was moved and parked next to one of the three houses in the fenced-in compound, which also enclosed several outbuildings.
Authorities asked residents to shelter in place during the standoff as negotiators tried to bring the situation to a peaceful conclusion, Shaffer said.
During their investigation, detectives had found out from multiple sources that Randy Wilhelm had a stockpile of firearms and ammunition and had made threats that he would not be arrested. Wilhelm was a well-known trap shooter and proficient marksman, and Shaffer says authorities believed he had the skills to defend himself.
At approximately 9:21a.m., Saturday the two men boarded a side-by-side vehicle, also known as a utility task vehicle or recreational off-highway vehicle, and steered it toward officers who were outside of an armored vehicle.
At that point, the men were shot by the officers, Shaffer said.
Before the shooting occurred, one person was extracted safely from the Gilchrist Road address and another was removed after the shooting, Emily Morrison, a spokesperson for Shaffer’s office, said.
The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is investigating the incident at the request of Shaffer’s office.
The firearms and ammunition seized by the bureau from the property were mostly sporting shotguns and hunting caliber rifles and ammunition used for trapshooting, attorney general Dave Yost said.