Editor's Note: This is a developing situation and this story will be updated as more information becomes available.
Several Oxford Police, Dayton Police and FBI personnel were parked near the intersection of Brown Road and North Ridge Drive, directing traffic around the area at 1:30 p.m. Thursday.
The law enforcement presence included a bomb truck and a police car with at least one K-9 unit. Oxford Chief of Police John Jones said he could not provide any information since the Cincinnati FBI is running the operation.
Several officers on scene were wearing tactical vests and military camouflage gear.
Two cars with officers in military dress, a large tactical truck and an undesignated black vehicle left the scene at roughly 1:51 p.m
Amanda Kohntopp, a junior biology major said she first saw the scene around 1:50 p.m. as she entered the Hawks Landing parking lot. Kohntopp has to enter through the back of the lot as police presence is preventing cars from coming through the main entrance.
“I’m a little worried,” Kohntopp said, “just because it’s the second event in three days that there’s been a crisis scene.”
A La Rosas pizza delivery arrived at 2:14 p.m. and delivered several boxes of pizza to the officers on scene. Around this time, the officers also moved police vehicles closer to the entrance of North Ridge Drive.
The Dayton Police bomb squad truck, a large silver vehicle and a black vehicle, drove away from the scene at 2:29 p.m. Other police vehicles have either left the scene or driven further down North Ridge Drive. Traffic on Brown Road has resumed.
A firetruck left the scene at 2:34 p.m..
According to an FBI press release, the Cincinnati Field Office’s Joint Terrorism Task Force arrested James River Phillips for possession of an unregistered destructive device.
A criminal complaint stated that Phillips had an improvised explosive device (IED), which was discovered at an outdoor sports complex on Sept. 22 by the Lebanon Police Department. The Joint Terrorism Task Force also connected Phillips to other reported incidents involving explosive devices.
The FBI coordinated the operation with several other law enforcement entities, including the Butler County Sherriff’s Office, Ohio State Highway Control and the Oxford Police Department.
This police presence comes two days after another incident in Oxford, where Oxford police apprehended a man who barricaded himself in an apartment.
mahones5@miami.oh
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