CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Four law enforcement officers were killed and four others were injured Monday when gunfire erupted at a house in Charlotte, North Carolina, where authorities first arrived to serve a warrant.
The suspect who fired at officers was fatally shot on the lawn of the house, while two other people inside the home were later taken in for questioning. Officials have said there may have been more than one shooter. In the aftermath, condolences for the officers involved in one of the deadliest recent attacks on law enforcement poured out from small communities 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, striking several of them, police said. Officers fatally shot the man, who was pronounced dead on the front lawn. From inside the house, another shooter began firing.
After an hourslong standoff, authorities sieged the home with armored vehicles and located at least one assault rifle. Two women were brought in for questioning after they left the house, the police department said in a statement. Johnny Jennings, chief of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, had earlier said a 17-year-old and a woman were being questioned.
8 officers shot, 4 killed
Eight officers – four from the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force and four from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department – were shot in the incident. Of the officers who were killed, three were from the task force and the other was from the police department.
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. Both were pronounced dead at a hospital.
“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.”
U.S. Marshals Deputy Thomas M. Weeks Jr., 48, of Mooresville, North Carolina, was killed in the shooting on Monday, the agency said in a statement. Weeks, a husband and the father of four children, was a 13-year veteran of the Marshals Service.
After hours in the hospital, Joshua Eyer, a six-year veteran of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, died from his injuries. Eyer was married and has a 3-year-old son.
“He fought for several hours and passed away from his injuries with his wife and family by his side tonight,” Jennings wrote on X. “I am truly grateful for his bravery, service and ultimate sacrifice. He will never be forgotten, and we are forever indebted.”
Neighbor recalls shootout, massive police response
Saing Chhoeun, 54, was just leaving his house shortly after 1 p.m. when members of the marshals take force raced into his yard, taking cover behind a powder-blue Honda sedan.
As gunfire began blasting through the yard of the two-story home next door, Chhoeun began live-streaming to Facebook from his iPhone.
Chhoeun said he watched as one and then another officer was hit by gunfire from the rear of the brick home, and heard the frantic calls for assistance. He said two women ran outside the house, as did another man, and authorities crashed an armored vehicle through his backyard to reach the two downed officers.
“They do what they gotta do to get the officer who was shot,” he said, looking at the twisted fencing and deep ruts left by the vehicle, which officers later used to rip the front of the house open so they could send a drone in. “I’ve seen a lot of movies and knew what was coming.”
– Trevor Hughes
Suspect had long criminal history, records show
Hughes had served time in prison following multiple felony convictions, including for breaking and entering, fleeing police in a high-speed chase and possession of a firearm, state records show.
In 2010, he served six months in prison after he was convicted on a felony breaking and entering charge related to an incident that occurred the year before, according to the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction.
In June 2012, he was arrested on charges of speeding to elude arrest. At the time, he was the subject of several active warrants. In order to avoid capture, he turned around near a checkpoint and sped away, beginning a chase that reached speeds of over 100 mph, WCNC reported.
Hughes was convicted of fleeing and possession of a firearm by a felon in October 2012. In September 2013, he was released from prison, according to the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction.
In May 2021, he was arrested on several charges, including possession of marijuana paraphernalia and eluding arrest in a motor vehicle, according to the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office. He was released the same day, records show.
Biden: ‘They are heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice’
President Joe Biden on Monday released a statement calling the officers “heroes” and saying he and first lady Jill Biden will be praying for the families and the recovering officers. The president also 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,” the president said in a statement. “We mourn for them and their loved ones. And we pray for the recoveries of the courageous officers who were wounded.”
Biden added more needs to be done to protect law enforcement: “That means funding them – so they have the resources they need to do their jobs and keep us safe. And it means taking additional action to combat the scourge of gun violence.”
Contributing: Jonathan Limehouse, Thao Nguyen, Michael Loria, USA TODAY
