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An agent with the US Marshals and three police officers were killed Monday
and four other officers wounded when they were met with a hail of bullets
while trying to serve a warrant in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Some of the officers were gunned down in a second, surprise round of
gunfire after the first officers shot and killed the wanted suspect in the
initial barrage of bullets on a front yard in the quiet suburban
neighborhood, officials said.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department Chief Johnny Jennings said Tuesday
called it the bloodiest day for law enforcement he�s seen in his 32 years
on the job.

�Today we lost some heroes that were out there simply trying to keep our
communities safe,� Jennings said at a press conference shortly after the
situation settled.

�To me it�s the most tragic [day] that I�ve been involved in,� he added.

Gunfire broke out around 1:30 p.m. in a tree-lined residential street
about 20 minutes west of downtown Charlotte as officers attempted to serve
a warrant for a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.

Upon arriving at a home on Galway Drive, US Marshals were met with bullets
flying from within the house prompting them to return fire.

When the gun smoke cleared, the suspect � the subject of the warrant whose
name was not released � was dead on the front lawn, cops said.

But when officers approached the home again, more fire erupted from
within, Jennings said.

SWAT teams and patrol units from CMPD arrived in armored vehicles to
assist and were eventually able to clear the home following the three-hour
standoff.

A woman and a 17-year-old boy were found inside the house and were taken
in for questioning as �persons of interest,� Jennings said. It�s not
immediately clear if investigators believe one or both are responsible for
the second round of gunfire.

Officers also recovered a high-powered rifle from the home � which was
torn apart by armored vehicles during the dramatic gunfight.

The dead included the US Marshal, two officers from the state Department
of Adult Correction, and local Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer Joshua
Eyer, authorities said.

Eyer � who was named officer of the month among the force for April just a
few weeks ago � was the only of the four dead immediately identified.

He succumbed to his injuries in the hospital a few hours after the
shooting, Jennings said.

�He certainly gave his life and dedicated his life to protecting our
citizens,� the police chief said.

It is unclear at what point during the violent exchange the officers were
killed.

�They lost their lives after they gave us the opportunity to be in a safe
place,� said Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles, fighting back tears.

�The most I can ask of our community is that we honor and respect them for
all the work that they�ve done, for all the work that we�ll do, to make it
possible for our city to be safer.�

In addition to the fatalities, one US Marshal was wounded, as were three
Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers. Their injuries vary from serious
gunshots to graze wounds.

Residents of the normally quiet neighborhood lined with brick homes and
well-manicured lawns were rocked by the standoff as dozens of cops and
armored SWAT trucks rushed to the scene.

Rissa Reign said she was cleaning when she heard gunshots followed by a
pause and then a second, and third round of shots.

�When we came outside, there were no cops at all, then cops started
rushing, rushing, rushing, rushing in,� she said.

Massive SWAT trucks quickly followed and they �were going over the grass,
everything, and they started shooting again,� she added.

Another neighbor described the chaos as overwhelming and terrifying.

�I see, like, 50 police cars zooming in, and then I hear gunshots,� Alex
Rivera said on the front porch of the house he shares with his cousin. �I
was scared, because there was so much going on.�

A news helicopter that was circling the neighborhood for WSOC-TV showed
the armored trucks plowing through yards and tearing apart the home where
the shots were fired.

But after the house was cleared, the pilot said the aftermath of the
shooting on the front lawn of the house was too graphic and disturbing to
show to viewers.

The last time a Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer was killed in the
line of duty was 17 years ago, when in March 2007, two of the local
force�s cops were killed while responding to a domestic dispute.

https://nypost.com/2024/04/29/us-news/police-officers-wounded-in-shooting-
near-charlotte/