Four law enforcement officers were killed and four others were injured on Monday when gunfire erupted at a house in Charlotte, North Carolina, where they were first arrived to serve a warrant.
The suspect who fired at officers was fatally shot on the lawn of the house, while several other people inside the home were taken into custody; at least one of them is believed to have shot at law enforcement. In the hours since, condolences for the officers killed and wounded in one of the deadliest recent attacks on law enforcement stretched from the local community to the White House.
Here’s what we know:
Shooting in Charlotte, North Carolina
Around 1:30 p.m. Monday, officers with the U.S. Marshals Task Force arrived at a home in a suburb of Charlotte to serve several active warrants against 39-year-old Terry Clark Hughes Jr., who was wanted for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and two counts of fleeing to elude, according to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.
Armed with a “high-powered rifle,” Hughes fired upon the approaching task force officers, police said. Officers returned fire and fatally shot the man, who was pronounced dead on the front lawn. From inside the house, more shots followed.
After a hourslong stand-off, authorities sieged the home with armored vehicles and located at least one assault rifle. Two women who were inside the home were brought in for questioning, the police department said in a statement.
8 officers shot, 4 killed
At the scene, four officers from the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force were shot and three succumbed to their injuries, including a deputy with the Marshals Service.
Two of the slain task force members, Sam Poloche and Alden Elliott, were employed by the the state’s Department of Adult Correction for 14 years, a statement from the department said. Poloche is survived by his wife and two children, according to the state’s correction department. Elliot was married and had one child.
“They loved their work, and were passionate about their roles in protecting our communities,” the statement said, adding: “These officers died as heroes and made the ultimate sacrifice in their service to our state.”
After hours in the hospital, Joshua Eyer, a six-year veteran of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, died Monday night from his injuries.
“He fought for several hours and passed away from his injuries with his wife and family by his side tonight,” Johnny Jennings, chief of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, wrote on X. “I am truly grateful for his bravery, service and ultimate sacrifice. He will never be forgotten, and we are forever indebted.”
