Three of the four officers killed in a North Carolina home shooting did so identified.
Samuel “Sam” Polche, William “Alden” Elliot and Charlotte Police Officer Joshua Eyer died Monday after the horror shooting while trying to serve a warrant. Both Polche and Elliot were officers of the North Carolina Department of Adult Corrections and worked with the U.S. Marshal’s office.
The U.S. marshal killed in the attack has not been named.
Officers served an arrest warrant for a felon wanted for possessing a firearm at the home, police said. The officers were first shot at by the wanted suspect as they approached the house in the suburb. The police shot the criminal dead 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 boy 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.
Several officers were injured while trying to rescue their fallen officers when they were injured.
“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.”
Charlotte Police Officer Joshua Eyer also died Monday evening. He was one of four officers killed
Officer Samuel “Sam” Polche (left) and Officer William “Alden” Elliot (right) were killed in a shooting at a home in Charlotte, North Carolina on Monday evening. They both worked for the North Carolina Department of Adult Corrections
Four officers were killed after a U.S. Marshals Task Force serving an arrest warrant for a felon wanted for possession of a firearm was fired upon.
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 speaks at a news conference
Another member of the task force, which includes federal agents and other officers from across the region, was injured.
Neighbors said the gunfire continued for several minutes after the shooting broke out.
WSOC-TV showed the incredible scene of an armored vehicle from a helicopter He 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
Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles gets choked up while speaking at a press conference
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.
Charlotte Fire Department Captain Brian Cunningham hugs Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Johnny Jennings during a news conference
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
North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper said he was in contact with law enforcement in Charlotte and offered all state resources to help
A Gofundme has been launched to raise $250,000 to help the families of the victim officers
The last U.S. marshal shot and killed in the line of 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.
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.