4 law enforcement officers were killed in shooting at a home in Charlotte, North Carolina. 4 other officers are hospitalized

By CNN

Published April 30, 2024 1:01 PM

WSOC, WBTV, CHARLOTTE-MECKLENBURG POLICE DEPT

By Devon M. Sayers, Shawn Nottingham and Emma Tucker, CNN

(CNN) — Four officers were killed in a shooting while attempting to serve a warrant at a home in Charlotte, North Carolina, including one deputy US marshal and two local task force officers, authorities say.

Four other law enforcement officers were shot during the incident, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Johnny Jennings said Monday evening.

An internal law enforcement memo reviewed by CNN shows officers are looking for the person who bought the firearm used in the shooting to potentially bring federal charges.

Jennings said during a Tuesday news conference the investigation is active and ongoing.

Evidence from the residence is still being processed, he said, adding the amount of evidence that will be collected is expected to be “well over 100 rounds of gunfire of projectiles and casings.”

“We saw officers going into the line of fire to save their brothers in blue who have gone down in an act of trying to keep our community safe,” Jennings said Tuesday. “To me, that’s truly heroic. When you hear the gunshots and the rapid fire and they are running directly into it because they know there are people who need help – they risked their own lives to do that.”

The compound tragedy adds to a growing list of officers shot and killed in the line of duty this year. At least 98 officers were shot in the line of duty from January through March, according to the Fraternal Order of Police, an organization representing US law enforcement officers. Ten of those officers died.

The shooting in Charlotte happened as members of a US Marshals fugitive task force were serving a warrant for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in the Shannon Park neighborhood, Jennings said.

The officers were met with gunfire from a “high-powered rifle” and returned fire, fatally shooting the suspect. Jennings said the task force had been serving the warrant to that suspect.

Jennings said 12 CMPD officers fired their weapons during the incident, all of whom have been placed on administrative leave pending a standard officer-involved shooting investigation.

Three members of the marshals’ task force were fatally shot, Jennings said. One of those killed was a deputy US marshal, 48-year-old Thomas M. Weeks, who is survived by his wife and four children, according to the US Marshals Service.

Two of the officers killed, Sam Poloche and Alden Elliott, worked for the state’s Department of Adult Correction, according to Todd Ishee, the department’s secretary. Both were 14-year veterans of the department assigned to the task force. Poloche leaves behind a wife and two children. Elliott leaves behind a wife and one child.

One of the fatally wounded officers, Joshua Eyer, died from his injuries “with his wife and family by his side” after fighting for several hours, police said. The six-year veteran of the CMPD is survived by his wife and 3-year-old son, Jennings said during a Monday evening news conference.

“Officer Eyer was 6-year veteran with the CMPD, and I am truly grateful for his bravery, service and ultimate sacrifice. He will never be forgotten, and we are forever indebted,” Jennings posted on X.

“It was just last month I was in this very room, congratulating Officer Eyer for becoming officer of the month,” Jennings said during the news conference. “He certainly dedicated his life and gave his life to serve our citizens.”

One CMPD officer who was injured by gunfire, Christopher Tolley, remains hospitalized in stable condition after undergoing surgery, Jennings said. Two other officers who were shot, Michael Giglio and Jack Blowers, were released on Monday after being treated.

Another officer, Justin Campbell, broke his foot and was released from the hospital Tuesday morning after being treated, according to a release from the police department.

2 firearms recovered from residence, police say

Authorities identified the deceased suspect as 39-year-old Terry Clark Hughes Jr. He was wanted for possession of a firearm by a felon and two counts of felony flee to elude out of Lincoln County, North Carolina, police said.

The internal law enforcement memo gives a detailed outline of Monday’s shooting, revealing law enforcement agents approached the suspect outside of a home. Hughes retreated into the home before he could be arrested, it said.

As law enforcement agents set up a perimeter around the residence, the memo said, Hughes opened fire with what was likely an AR-15-style rifle from a second-story window, striking 8 officers, the memo said.

Hughes then jumped out of the second story window onto an awning and officers shot and killed Hughes, the memo said.

The AR-15 rifle, a .40 caliber handgun, along with additional magazines and ammunition were recovered from the scene, according to Jennings.

Police initially believed there might have been another suspect shooting from inside the residence, but Jennings told CNN on Tuesday it’s likely Hughes was moving through different parts of the home.

“Unfortunately, this individual decided to greet them with gunfire, and it just turned into a tragic event for the officers who were originally out on the scene and the officers who responded to try and assist,” Jennings told CNN.

A woman and a 17-year-old girl were brought outside of the home after police secured the scene, Jennings added. They were taken to the Charlotte Law Enforcement Center to be interviewed by detectives, police said.

“We are very early in the investigation,” Jennings said Monday. “CMPD will lead this investigation, we still have a lot to uncover, a lot of questions that are not answered right now.”

The city’s mayor, Vi Lyles, said during Tuesday’s news conference: “Charlotte isn’t going to be the last place that this happens, but Charlotte will be the place that will heal – that will heal with dignity and respect for everyone.”

Officers killed in line of duty was highest on record in 2023, data shows

There were 378 officers shot in the line of duty in 2023 – the highest number on record since the Fraternal Order of Police began tracking the data. They included 46 officers killed by gunfire and 20 killed in ambush-style attacks, according to the Fraternal Order of Police.

“Many will often look at this data and just see numbers, but we MUST remember that they represent heroes — fathers, mothers, sons, and daughters,” Fraternal Order of Police President Patrick Yoes said after the organization released the data. “This scale of violence against our officers is horrifying and simply unsustainable. It is no wonder that our profession is facing a recruitment and retention crisis.”

In 2022, there were 331 officers shot in the line of duty, including 62 by gunfire and 32 killed in ambush-style attacks, according to the Fraternal Order of Police. The year before, 346 officers were shot in the line of duty, including 63 by gunfire, the data shows.

The increased violence against police officers in the past few years mirrors the broader rise in shootings and violence in the US since 2020.

Criminology experts such as Thomas Abt, a senior fellow at the Council on Criminal Justice, have cited a few potential explanations: the fraying of social connections due to the Covid-19 pandemic; the murder of George Floyd and resulting rise in public distrust of police and a surge in firearm sales and gun ownership.

While theories behind any violent crime vary, the FBI has tried to piece together an explanation of why some people attack police officers.

A 2016 report, summarized in an FBI document released to law enforcement agencies in May 2017, examined 50 shootings of police officers and found that the assailants’ two key motives were a desire to escape arrest (40%) and hatred of the police (28%), CNN previously reported.

‘They are heroes,’ Biden says

The police chief described the shooting as “the most tragic one” he had been involved with in his 32-year-long law enforcement career.

“I can’t remember an incident where three law enforcement officers were killed in the same incident, as well as one in critical condition and additional (officers) that were shot and injured,” Jennings said.

President Joe Biden spoke with North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper after the shooting, the White House said Monday. Later, Biden issued a statement calling the officers “heroes.”

“They are heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice, rushing into harm’s way to protect us,” the president said. “We mourn for them and their loved ones. And we pray for the recoveries of the courageous officers who were wounded.”

Mayor Lyles said in a statement she is “deeply saddened by the shooting that occurred that involved Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers and US Marshals today.”

“I ask that all Charlotteans keep them, the other injured officers, and their families in your thoughts and prayers during this incredibly difficult time,” Lyles said.

In a post on X, the US Marshals Service wrote, “Our hearts are heavy tonight for the lives shattered by today’s horrific shooting in Charlotte, NC. We mourn the loss of our Deputy and two Task Force Officers. We are grateful for all the support, and we keep the families and colleagues of all officers involved, in our thoughts.”

This story has been updated with additional information.

CNN’s Holmes Lybrand, Evan Perez, Hannah Rabinowitz, Dianne Gallagher, Zoe Sottile, Eric Levenson, Josh Campbell, Ritu Prasad and Sam Fossum contributed to this report.

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