Multiple law enforcement officers were shot Monday, April 29, 2024, in east Charlotte, N.C., the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department said. Officers from the U.S. Marshals Task Force were conducting an investigation in a suburban neighborhood when they were fired upon, the CMPD said in a post on X, formerly Twitter. (Khadejeh Nikouyeh/The Charlotte Observer via AP)
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) –
A deputy U.S. marshal was shot and killed and several other law enforcement officers were wounded Monday as they tried to serve a fugitive warrant in North Carolina, federal authorities said.
Officers who were part of a U.S. Marshals task force were carrying out the operation when someone began firing at them from inside a home in a residential neighborhood in Charlotte.
One suspect was found dead inside the home.
The shooting broke out at about 1 p.m., prompting a massive law enforcement response as police cars and ambulances raced to the neighborhood and shut down surrounding streets. Gunfire continued for several minutes after the initial shooting.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) – Several officers on a task force trying to serve a warrant in a suburban Charlotte, North Carolina, neighborhood were shot Monday afternoon and a suspect in the shooting was found dead inside a home, police said.
Officers from several agencies in the U.S. Marshals Task Force were carrying out the operation in the residential area when someone began firing at them and multiple officers were shot, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said in a post on X.
Three hours after the gunfire, police said one person suspected in the shooting was found dead by a SWAT team clearing the home on the east side of the city, according to police. They said two others inside the home were being questioned.
Gunfire continued for several minutes after the initial shooting. Authorities did not say exactly how many officers were struck by gunfire or elaborate on their conditions.
WSOC-TV said their helicopter captured an armored vehicle driving through yards and knocking over recycling bins before officers removed a person with blood on their shirt who was then loaded into an ambulance.
After the home was cleared, the helicopter pilot said he couldn’t show the front lawn of the home because the scene was too disturbing. Several armored vehicles were on nearby lawns and driveways of the older suburban neighborhood of a tree-lined street with brick homes.
Many roads in the area including Interstate 77 were closed so ambulances could get to hospitals faster. TV footage showed ambulances speeding to hospitals with several vehicles with sirens on both in front and behind them.
Kiashia Williams was driving home when she heard several shots separated by a few seconds.
“Ambulances, police and everything everywhere just started rushing down,” said Williams as she waited in her car to be allowed to go home and check on her daughter, who broadcast what she saw on social media.
Four Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools were placed on lockdown around afternoon dismissal, but that was lifted in the late afternoon, the district said.
Police urged people to stay away from the neighborhood and asked residents to remain inside their homes.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said he was in contact with law enforcement in Charlotte and offered any state resources to help.
Authorities did not immediately specify the nature of the warrant being served by the task force operation.
The Carolinas Regional Fugitive Task Force is headquartered in Charlotte with 70 federal, state and local agencies. Fugitive task forces are collaborations between agencies to find and arrest suspects in crimes.
In six years, the regional task force has apprehend more than 8,900 fugitives, the U.S. Marshals Service said on its website.
In March 2007, two Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police officers were killed responding to a domestic dispute by someone not directly involved in the fight. Demeatrius Antonio Montgomery is serving a life sentence in the killings of officers Jeffrey Shelton and Sean Clark.
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Contributing to this report were Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, South Carolina; Rebecca Reynolds in Louisville, Kentucky; and Sarah Brumfield in Silver Spring, Maryland.
