Four law enforcement officers were shot and killed Monday in Charlotte while trying to arrest a suspect wanted on charges of firearm possession by a felon.
Three officers who died were members of the US Marshals Fugitive Task Force. The other was a CMPD officer, six-year veteran Joshua Eyer.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Johnny Jennings became emotional describing how Eyer had been named CMPD’s officer of the month just a month ago.
“It was just last month. I was in this very room, congratulating Officer Eyer for becoming officer of the month in April,” he said, “He certainly dedicated his life and gave his life to serve our citizens. And I ask that you will keep him and his family and all of the others that fell victim this afternoon. Keep everyone in your prayers.”
Four more officers were wounded, one critically, in what became one of the deadliest days for law enforcement in state history.
"This is a good example of what we tell people every single day that when we put on this uniform that we don’t have any guarantees that we will return home. And yet we have a lot of great men and women across this great country who do it every single day to make sure you are safe in your communities." — Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Johnny Jennings.
Jennings said the suspect they were trying to arrest opened fire on officers at about 1:30 pm in east Charlotte. They returned fire and killed him in the front yard of a house. As officers approached his body, a second suspect opened fire from inside the house.
As officers approached his body, a second suspect opened fire from inside the house.
“So, the bravery of our officers that responded to the scene knowing that they are going into gunfire is what I have been saying for many years. In the face of danger, our people step up, and this profession steps up, and that’s what we should be defined as doing. Because they knew what they were going into and still held their own in an attempt to apprehend this suspect.”
The standoff continued for hours, with gunfire continuing past 3 pm and major roads shut down across east Charlotte as police cleared streets so they could transport wounded people to the hospital as quickly as possible. The standoff ended shortly before 5 pm, when police SWAT teams cleared the house and arrested two suspects inside.
