Four law enforcement officers were fatally shot on Monday when a fugitive task force attempted to serve an arrest warrant on a home in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Authorities said one US Marshal and two local law enforcement officers working with the task force were killed when the suspect opened fire at about 1:30 p.m. A fourth, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Officer Joshua Eyer, later died at the hospital.
The other three killed were later identified as Corrections Department officers Samuel Poloche and William Elliott, and US Marshal Thomas Weeks.
Four other officers were also injured in the shootout and the suspect was shot and killed.
The task force was attempting to capture fugitive Terry Clark Hughes Jr., 39, an ex-felon wanted in Lincoln County, North Carolina for possession of a firearm and eluding authorities.
Officers later found a 40-caliber handgun, an AR-15, and ammunition at the scene.
According to Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Chief Johnny Jennings, an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle can penetrate body armor. In total, investigators found over 100 spent rounds at the scene but it was not clear how many of those rounds were fired by the suspect since at least 12 of the officers were also firing.
The shootout marked the deadliest incident for US law enforcement since the 2016 sniper attack in Dallas that killed five officers.
According to state records, Hughes had a long criminal history in North Carolina, dating back more than 10 years. He served time in prison for breaking and entering, eluding arrest, reckless driving, and possession of a firearm by a felon.
The two residents of the Charlotte home, an adult woman and a girl, were cooperating with authorities. No charges were filed against them and no other suspects were being pursued, Jennings said.
According to Chief Jennings, Officer Eyer was named Charlotte-Mecklenburg’s Officer of the Month in April for his role in helping to get illegal guns off the streets. He left behind a wife and 3-year-old son.
