2 Brothers with 1,000 Guns Die in Shootout with Law Enforcement

State investigators found more than 1,000 firearms and over 140,000 rounds of ammunition during a search of a property where two brothers died Saturday during a long standoff with law-enforcement officers.

The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is continuing to investigate the fatal shootings of Randy Wilhelm, 56, and Bradley Wilhelm, 53, on Saturday morning at their residence in Monroe Township, Ohio, which is in Knox County, about 50 miles northeast of Columbus. Authorities say the brothers were killed when they drove a side-by-side ATV toward officers standing near an armored vehicle. Both men reportedly were armed as they drove toward officers.

The Ohio Attorney General’s Office says most of the guns seized at the property are sporting shotguns and hunting-caliber rifles. Most of the ammunition is target ammunition for trapshooting, according to the AG’s office.

The nine-hour standoff started at about 11:30 p.m. Friday when a bail bondsman called the Knox County Sheriff’s Office, telling dispatchers a suspect had fired several shots at his vehicle, the Columbus Dispatch reports. The bondsman was trying to arrest Randy Wilhelm because he had failed to appear in Knox County Common Pleas Court on a $100,000 bond, WBNS Channel 10 reports.

The Dispatch reports Randy Wilhelm was charged in 2020 with intimidation, menacing by stalking, bribery, felonious assault and domestic violence.

Multiple armored vehicles and patrol cars ended up surrounding the property, which had three residences on it. Reports say the brothers hit three of the armored vehicles with gunfire, and also fired shots at a State Highway Patrol helicopter that flew over the scene.

Reports say that during the standoff, a bulk propane truck was parked next to one of the houses and Randy Wilhelm threatened to use it as a bomb if officers tried to arrest him. The Dispatch reports Wilhelm might have had a stash of weapons and ammunition in the home and was determined not to be arrested.

The AG’s office says once BCI’s investigation is complete, it will be referred to the Knox County prosecuting attorney. BCI has been requested to investigate 40 officer-involved shootings in Ohio this year.