At least three law enforcement officers were killed in a shooting in Charlotte, North Carolina, while attempting to execute an arrest warrant Monday afternoon, police said. A suspect was killed in a shootout with police, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Johnny Jennings announced at a news conference.
A U.S. Marshals Service fugitive task force, made up of officers from multiple agencies, was attempting to execute an arrest warrant for
an individual for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in east Charlotte when the shooting began, Jennings told reporters.
When officers approached the individual at a residence, they were fired upon and then returned fire, hitting the individual, Jennings said. The person was later pronounced dead in the front yard.
More shots came from inside the residence as officers approached the individual, sparking a lengthy standoff, Jennings said.
After the confrontation ended, two people were found inside the residence and were brought to the police station as persons of interest, Jennings said. Investigators were trying to determine what happened inside the residence.
A total of eight officers were shot, Jennings said. The Marshals Service said a deputy U.S. marshal was killed.
Four Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers were shot, including one in critical condition, Jennings said. Police said on social media that the other injured officer was from an aid agency.
“Today is an absolutely tragic day for the city of Charlotte and for the law enforcement profession,” Jennings said.
AP Photo/Nell Redmond
Tyler Wilson told CBS affiliate WBTV that he was working at home when he heard police calling for someone to come out of a nearby house.
“After that, it was just chaos,” Wilson told the station. “There were gunshots left and right. SWAT and U.S. Marshals had set up snipers in our rooms. There was an officer who had drugs thrown into his arms in our house. I I don’t know if he was shot or if he was injured. It was pretty crazy. It lasted about 30 minutes and it was a back-to-back shootout.
Video posted to social media appears to show more than a dozen police cars and two officers running to the scene.
Steven Switzerland
