North Carolina: Four officers from the US Marshals Task Force serving a warrant for a felon for possessing a firearm were killed and five other officers were wounded in a shootout in North Carolina on Monday (local time), according to police. The wanted suspect who fired on the law enforcement officers was also killed in his front yard and his name has not been disclosed as of now.
According to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Johnny Jennings, some of the officers who rushed to the Charlotte neighbourhood to rescue the first wave of downed officers were wounded as a second shooter opened fire on them after they killed the suspect. "Today we lost some heroes who were out simply trying to keep our community safe," Jennings said.
The officers who were killed were attempting to serve a warrant for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. They arrived at a residence where the suspect was located and he began firing on the officers, Jennings said. They returned fire, and the suspect was killed in the front yard. President Biden was briefed on the incident and has spoken with North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, the White House said. Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer Joshua Eyer died a few hours later at the hospital, Jennings said, adding that Eyer was named the officer of the month for the force for April a few weeks ago.
How the situation unfolded?
In pursuit of the wanted man, the police officers entered a standoff with the shooters that lasted three hours, after which the suburban Charlotte home was torn open. Armoured vehicles smashed into the house, ripping off windows and entire doorways that were left broken. Several armoured vehicles were parked across yards, some with tree branches dangling off them.
A second person then fired on officers from inside the home where a high-powered rifle was found, Jennings added. A woman and a 17-year-old male were found in the home after the standoff. The two are being questioned, the police chief said. The Marshal’s Service confirmed one of its agents was killed and did not release a name. Two officers from the state Department of Adult Correction were also killed, Cooper said.
Four Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers who responded to the scene were shot while trying to rescue the wounded officers. One of them remains in critical condition, Jennings said. "A lot of the questions that need to be answered, we don’t even know what those questions are now. We have to get a full understanding of why this occurred and also uphold the integrity of the investigation," he added.
Many roads in the area including Interstate 77 were closed so ambulances could get to hospitals faster. TV footage showed ambulances speeding to hospitals escorted by vehicles both in front and behind with their sirens wailing. "When we came outside, there were no cops at all, then cops started rushing, rushing, rushing, rushing in," said Rissa Reign, who witnessed the standoff, adding that armoured SWAT trucks were "going over the grass, everything, and they started shooting again."
The Carolinas Regional Fugitive Task Force is headquartered in Charlotte and comprised of 70 federal, state and local agencies. Fugitive task forces are collaborations between agencies to find and arrest suspects in crimes. The last marshal shot and killed in the line of duty was in November 2018. Chase White was shot in Tucson, Arizona, by a man wanted for stalking local law enforcement officers, the agency said.
(with inputs from agencies)
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