Authorities reported that four law enforcement officers were shot dead and four injured on Monday when a gunfight broke out while they were executing a fugitive arrest warrant at a residence in Charlotte, North Carolina.
According to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, the fugitive, who opened fire on officers as they arrived at the residence, was shot and killed during the gunfight, and two more suspects were taken into custody following a standoff.
The White House stated that President Biden has spoken with Governor Roy Cooper of North Carolina and has been briefed on the incident.
During a press conference, Chief Johnny Jennings of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department stated that three of the slain officers were members of a U.S. Marshals Task Force, which was made up of officers from various agencies. The fourth officer belonged to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.
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At a press conference late on Monday, Jennings named Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department employee Joshua Eyer as the fourth officer shot dead, who had been serving the department for six years.
According to a statement from the US Justice Department, one of the four dead officers was a deputy US marshal.
"Today is an absolute tragic day for the city of Charlotte and for the profession of law enforcement," Jennings said. "Today we lost some heroes who were out to just keep our community safe."
The deceased U.S. Marshals Task Force officers were trying to execute a warrant for firearm possession by a convicted felon. When they got to the suspect's house, he started shooting at the officers, according to Jennings. The suspect was shot and killed in the front yard when they returned fire.
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Then the officers took gunfire from inside the house. After a tense standoff, a SWAT team cleared the house and apprehended the two individuals from inside. According to Jennings, at least one of them is thought to have shot the officers.
Biden on Monday demanded more action to stop gun violence in the US in reaction to the shooting.
"Leaders in Congress need to step up so that we ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, require safe storage of guns, and pass universal background checks and a national red flag law", Biden said in a statement.
