Four police officers were killed in a three-hour standoff at a home in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Gunfire erupted as law enforcement officers served an arrest warrant at the barricaded home on the 5000 block of Galway Drive around 1.30pm on Monday, according to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.
An armed suspect opened fire and shot four cops with the police department, including one who died of the injuries.
Four more officers from the US Marshals Fugitive Task Force were also shot – three of them fatally.
It is one of the deadliest attacks on American law enforcement officers in recent years.
‘As officers approached, the male subject discharged his firearm striking multiple officers. These officers requested immediate response from other officers,’ stated the police department. ‘As officers responded, the gunfire continued, striking additional officers.’
The suspect fled the home with a firearm and officers shot him in the front yard, where he was pronounced dead. He has been identified as Terry Clark Hughes Jr, 39, who was wanted for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon as well as two counts of fleeing to elude.
Cops proceeded to start negotiating with two other individuals inside the home and then carried out a siege with armored vehicles. Two women who exited the property were taken in for questioning.
The officers were rushed to nearby hospitals.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg police Officer Joshua Eyer, who served the force for six years, died after hours at a hospital. He was a husband and father of a three-year-old son.
‘He fought for several hours and passed away from his injuries with his wife and family by his side tonight,’ wrote police Chief Johnny Jennings on X (formerly Twitter).
‘I am truly grateful for his bravery, service and ultimate sacrifice. He will never be forgotten, and we are forever indebted.’
Two of the task force members who were pronounced dead at a hospital were Alden Elliott and Sam Poloche, who worked for the state’s Department of Adult Correction for 14 years. Poloche was a husband and father-of-two, and Elliot was married and had a child.
‘They loved their work and were passionate about their roles in protecting our communities,’ stated the US Marshals Service. ‘These officers died as heroes and made the ultimate sacrifice in their service to our state.’
US Marshals Deputy Thomas Weeks Jr, 48, of Mooresville, who was killed in the shooting, had served for 13 years and was a husband and father-of-four.
President Joe Biden said the officers were ‘heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice, rushing into harm’s way to protect us’.
‘We mourn for them and their loved ones,’ stated Biden. ‘And we pray for the recoveries of the courageous officers who were wounded.’
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