Eight law-enforcement officers were shot, four fatally, during a shootout on Monday outside a home in North Carolina while serving a warrant to someone wanted for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. It was the deadliest attack on US law enforcement since 2016.
Three of the four law-enforcement officers killed were working on a fugitive taskforce as agents with the US Marshals Service, and the fourth was a police officer who had recently been named officer of the month by his department.
As the team made up of state, federal and local officers approached a home in Charlotte on Monday night, the subject of the warrant began shooting at them in the front yard, police said. Officers shot back and killed the man.
A second shooter inside the home began firing, injuring four Charlotte-Mecklenburg police department officers. Police said the officers found themselves at a disadvantage as they were being fired upon from above, with the second shooter taking aim from upstairs.
The officers who were working on the fugitive taskforce as federal marshals were named on Tuesday as William “Alden” Elliott and Sam Poloche, both of whom had worked for the North Carolina department of adult correction for 14 years, starting out as probation and parole officers and later working as part of the special operations and intelligence unit assigned to the US Marshals Carolinas regional fugitive taskforce.
Thomas Weeks Jr, also killed, was a 13-year veteran of the Marshals Service, and had served in the western district of North Carolina for the last 10 years, working security at a federal courthouse while serving on the fugitive taskforce.
The fourth officer killed was Joshua Eyer of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg police department, who died at the hospital a few hours after being wounded at the shootout, police said. Eyer had recently been named the force’s officer of the month for April.
“They’re heroes,” Johnny Jennings, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg police chief, said at a Tuesday news conference. “They’re heroes because they face dangers that most humans should not have to face. And they accept that danger. And not a single one of them backed away from that challenge yesterday.”
A “high-power rifle” was recovered from the home and two additional people, including a 17-year-old, were brought to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg police station as persons of interest, Jennings said.
Roy Cooper, the North Carolina governor, spoke to the families of the fellow officers and friends and co-workers of the men on Tuesday, who variously described them as tough but kind, as dedicated people who loved their jobs and were good at them.
Jennings described the incident as the most tragic in his 32 years with the police department. “I can’t imagine that there’s one any worse than what we’re seeing today,” he said.
“This is a good example of what we try to tell people every single day: when we put on this uniform we don’t have any guarantees that we’ll return home. But we have a lot of great men and women across this entire country that do it every day to make sure you’re safe in your communities.”
Vi Lyles, the Charlotte mayor, said she has been contacted by the White House and a host of state officials to ask what the community needs as they sort through the events of the day and plan for memorials to honor the officers.
“We’ve lost three people,” Lyles said during the news conference. “They lost their lives after they gave us the opportunity to be in a safe place. We know that there is a reason that everything happens and sometimes we don’t understand it.”
The identity of the subject of the warrant was released as Terry Clark Hughes Jr, 39. He was wanted on charges of firearm possession by a felon, officials said.
Information about a second shooter has not been released.
Police have said that two women in the home at the center of the shootout were brought in for questioning after leaving the residence.
“We have to get a full understanding of why this occurred and also uphold the integrity of the investigation,” Jennings said.
The Associated Press contributed reporting
