Charlotte, NC, police shooting: Three US Marshals are shot dead while serving warrant at home
Three U.S. Marshals Task Force officers serving an arrest warrant for a felon wanted for possession of a firearm were killed and five other officers were injured Monday in a shootout at a North Carolina home, police said.
The officers were first shot at by the wanted suspect as they approached the suburban Charlotte home and killed him in the front yard, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Johnny Jennings said.
A second person then shot at officers from inside the home where a high-powered rifle was found, Jennings said.
A woman and a 17-year-old man were found in the house after a three-hour standoff in which armored vehicles crashed into the suburban home in a tree-lined neighborhood, tearing off doorways and windows.
The two are being questioned, Jennings said.
“Today is an absolutely tragic day for the city of Charlotte and for the law enforcement profession,” Jennings said WRAL. “Today we lost some heroes who are simply out to keep our community safe.”
Three U.S. Marshals Task Force officers serving an arrest warrant for a felon wanted for possession of a firearm were killed in a shooting at a Charlotte home.
The officers were first shot at by the wanted suspect as they approached the suburban Charlotte home and killed him in the front yard.
Another member of the task force, which includes federal agents and other officers from across the region, was injured.
The Marshal’s Service confirmed that one of the officers had been killed and did not release a name. The agencies where the two other officers worked were not released.
Four Charlotte-Mecklenburg officers who responded to the scene were also shot while trying to rescue the injured officers. One of them remains in critical condition, Jennings said.
Neighbors said the gunfire continued for several minutes after the shooting broke out.
WSOC-TV reported an armored vehicle drove through gardens and knocked over recycling bins before officers removed a person with blood on his shirt, who was then loaded into an ambulance.
After the house was cleared, the station’s helicopter pilot said he could not show the front yard of the house because the scene was too disturbing.
Several armored vehicles drove onto nearby lawns and driveways of the older suburban neighborhood of a tree-lined street lined with brick homes.
A shattered window, torn blinds, littered a street and an entire doorway leaned against one of the vehicles.
Many area roads, including Interstate 77, were closed so ambulances could reach hospitals more quickly.
A second person then shot at officers from the home where a high-powered rifle was found
A woman and a 17-year-old man were found in the house after a three-hour standoff, during which armored vehicles crashed into the house in the suburbs
TV footage showed ambulances rushing to hospitals with several vehicles with sirens both in front and behind them.
Kashia Williams was driving home when she heard several shots a few seconds apart.
“Ambulances, police and everything from anywhere just started rushing down,” Williams said as she waited in her car until she could go home to check on her daughter, who broadcast what she saw on social media.
Four Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools were placed on lockdown around noon, but that was lifted in the late afternoon, the district said.
Police urged people to stay away and asked residents to stay indoors.
North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper said he was in contact with law enforcement in Charlotte and offered all state resources to help.
The last marshal to be shot while on 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.
A Charlotte Mecklenburg police officer carries a gun as he walks through the neighborhood where an officer-involved shooting occurred in Charlotte
Multiple police vehicles respond in the area
The Carolinas Regional Fugitive Task Force is headquartered in Charlotte and consists of 70 federal, state and local agencies.
Fugitive Task Forces are interagency partnerships to locate and arrest suspects of 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 in response to a domestic dispute by someone not directly involved in the fight.
Demeatrius Antonio Montgomery is serving a life sentence for the murder of officers Jeffrey Shelton and Sean Clark.