Four
law
officers
serving
a
warrant
for
a
felon
wanted
for
possessing
a
firearm
were
killed
and
four
other
officers
were
wounded
in
a
shootout
Monday
at
a
North
Carolina
home,
police
said.
Some
of
the
officers
who
rushed
to
the
Charlotte
neighborhood
to
rescue
the
first
wave
of
downed
officers
were
wounded
as
a
second
shooter
began
firing
on
them
after
they
killed
the
wanted
man,
Charlotte-Mecklenburg
Police
Chief
Johnny
Jennings
said.
“Today
we
lost
some
heroes
who
were
out
simply
trying
to
keep
our
community
safe,”
Jennings
said
at
a
news
conference.
After
a
three-hour
standoff,
the
suburban
Charlotte
home
was
torn
open.
Armored
vehicles
smashed
into
it,
ripping
off
windows
and
entire
doorways
that
were
left
broken.
Several
armored
vehicles
were
parked
across
yards,
some
with
tree
branches
dangling
off
them.
The
U.S.
Marshals
Task
Force
was
fired
on
by
the
wanted
suspect
as
they
approached
the
house
and
the
man
was
killed
in
the
front
yard,
Jennings
said.
His
name
was
not
released,
but
the
chief
said
he
was
wanted
as
a
felon
illegally
possessing
a
weapon.
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,
Jennings
said.
The
Marshal’s
Service
confirmed
one
of
its
agents
was
killed.
Two
officers
from
the
state
Department
of
Adult
Correction
also
were
killed,
said
North
Carolina
Gov.
Roy
Cooper.
The
governor
was
in
Charlotte
and
was
speaking
to
the
families
of
the
officers
killed
and
hurt.
Their
names
have
not
been
released.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg
police
officer
Joshua
Eyer
died
a
few
hours
later
at
the
hospital,
Jennings
said.
Eyer
was
named
the
officer
of
the
month
for
the
force
for
April
a
few
weeks
ago,
the
chief
said.
“He
certainty
gave
his
life
and
dedicated
his
life
to
protecting
our
citizens,”
Jennings
said.
One
other
member
of
the
task
force,
which
is
made
up
of
federal
agents
and
other
officers
from
across
the
region
was
injured.
Three
other
Charlotte-Mecklenburg
police
officers
who
responded
to
the
scene
were
shot
while
trying
to
rescue
the
wounded
officers.
Neighbors
said
gunfire
lasted
for
several
minutes.
WSOC-TV
said
their
helicopter
captured
an
armored
vehicle
driving
through
yards
and
knocking
over
recycling
bins
before
officers
removed
a
person
with
blood
on
their
shirt
who
was
then
loaded
into
an
ambulance.
After
the
home
was
cleared,
the
helicopter
pilot
said
he
couldn’t
show
the
front
lawn
of
the
home
because
the
scene
was
too
graphic
and
disturbing.
“A
lot
of
the
questions
that
need
to
be
answered,
we
don’t
even
know
what
those
questions
are
now,”
Jennings
said,
somberly
briefing
reporters
less
than
four
hours
after
the
shooting.
“We
have
to
get
a
full
understanding
of
why
this
occurred
and
also
uphold
the
integrity
of
the
investigation.”
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.
Rissa
Reign
was
cleaning
her
house
when
she
heard
the
first
shots
ring
out.
There
was
a
pause,
then
a
second
set
of
shots
and
then
a
third.
She
stepped
outside.
“When
we
came
outside,
there
were
no
cops
at
all,
then
cops
started
rushing,
rushing,
rushing,
rushing
in,”
she
said,
adding
armored
SWAT
trucks
quickly
followed
and
they
“were
going
over
the
grass,
everything,
and
they
started
shooting
again.”
The
neighborhood,
of
one–
and
two-story,
brick
homes
and
small
trimmed
lawns,
is
very
safe,
said
Alex
Rivera,
who
lives
on
a
street
nearby.
“I
see,
like,
50
police
cars
zooming
in,
and
then
I
hear
gunshots,”
he
said
on
the
front
porch
of
the
house
he
shares
with
his
cousin.
“I
was
scared,
because
there
was
so
much
going
on.“
Another
neighbor,
William
Cunningham,
was
moved
to
tears
as
he
sat
on
his
porch.
He
said
he
is
a
veteran
of
Operation
Desert
Storm
but
never
expected
such
violence
in
his
own
neighborhood.
“Bless
those
officers
and
bless
their
families,”
he
said.
“Nobody
should
get
killed
over
a
warrant.”
Four
Charlotte-Mecklenburg
Schools
were
placed
on
lockdown
around
afternoon
dismissal,
but
that
was
lifted
in
the
late
afternoon,
the
district
said.
Police
urged
people
to
stay
away
from
the
neighborhood
and
asked
residents
to
remain
inside
their
homes
until
the
all
clear
was
given.
President
Joe
Biden
was
briefed
on
the
shooting
and
spoke
with
Charlotte
Mayor
Vi
Lyles
to
express
his
condolences
and
support
for
the
community.
“They
are
heroes
who
made
the
ultimate
sacrifice,
rushing
into
harm’s
way
to
protect
us,”
Biden
said
in
a
statement
late
Monday.
“We
mourn
for
them
and
their
loved
ones.
And
we
pray
for
the
recoveries
of
the
courageous
officers
who
were
wounded.”
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.
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.
In
six
years,
the
regional
task
force
has
apprehended
more
than
8,900
fugitives,
the
U.S.
Marshals
Service
said
on
its
website.
In
March
2007,
two
Charlotte-Mecklenburg
Police
officers
were
killed
while
responding
to
a
domestic
dispute
by
someone
not
directly
involved
in
the
fight.
Demeatrius
Antonio
Montgomery
is
serving
a
life
sentence
in
the
killings
of
officers
Jeffrey
Shelton
and
Sean
Clark.