Police recovered an AR-15 rifle and a.40-caliber handgun from the scene where four law enforcement officers were fatally shot while attempting to serve warrants at a Charlotte, North Carolina, residence.
The site yielded additional magazines and ammo for both firearms, as well as more than 100 projectiles and casings, according to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Johnny Jennings.
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“I can’t tell you how much I’m grateful for these officers and their heroic acts,” Jennings said during a press conference on Tuesday. “To me, that’s truly heroic—when you hear the gunshots and the rapid fire, and they’re running directly into it because they know that there are people who need help.”
Municipal officials in Charlotte reported that the officers shot and murdered each other while attempting to serve two warrants on Monday. The event resulted in four other officers suffering non-life-threatening injuries.
Terry Clark Hughes Jr., 39, allegedly began firing at 1:30 p.m. Monday, striking multiple policemen, according to police. The US Marshals Fugitive Task Force was serving active felony warrants for a felon in possession of a handgun who was fleeing to evade arrest.
Jennings stated that gunfire “immediately met” the responding officers. According to Jennings, the shooter was firing from an upper level of the property and had an “advantage” over them.
Investigators are looking into how Hughes obtained the guns and whether other shooters were involved, Jennings said Tuesday. He added that an adolescent and a woman who were in the house at the time were involved in the inquiry.
“We feel like we have everyone involved at the house that we need to speak with,” Jennings went on to say.
Twelve Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers discharged their service weapons during the altercation and have been placed on administrative leave, according to protocol, while the shooting is investigated, the chief said.
The incident claimed the lives of four law enforcement officers: Deputy U.S. Marshal Thomas Weeks Jr., 48; veterans from the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction, Sam Poloche and Alden Elliott; and CMPD officer Joshua Eyer.
“It’s very tough to know that there are families who are hurting right now,” Jennings sobbed on Tuesday. “We’ll get through it, though.”
Authorities identified the four CMPD officers injured in the incident on Tuesday as Christopher Tolley, Michael Giglio, and Jack Blowers, who sustained gunshot wounds, and Justin Campbell, who sustained a broken foot. Authorities have released the others, while Tolley remains hospitalized in stable condition.
North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper hailed the responding cops for their “bravery and courage.”
“The investigation into this tragic, brutal, and deadly attack will result in more answers that we don’t know today,” North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said during Tuesday’s press conference. “I expect it to find the answers and help bring people to justice for these needless deaths of these brave officers.”
Mayor Vi Lyles thanked the health-care providers who “did everything that was possible.”
“To the four families who gave that ultimate sacrifice, we see you,” she said at Tuesday’s briefing. “Today we say our prayers as we get through this difficult time.”
The county commissioners board chairman, George Dunlap, issued a statement describing the shooting as a “senseless and preventable” tragedy.
Mecklenburg County Manager Dena Diorio noted that the community is in “shock and pain” as a result of Monday’s shooting.
“We stand ready to support our law enforcement colleagues and their families in any way we can as we all work through this heartbreaking situation,” she stated in a Facebook post.
In a social media statement, Dr. Raynard Washington, the county’s health director, said he was “praying and sending light and support to the families trying to make sense of this disaster.”.
“We should all be tired of our guns ending up in the wrong hands.” “Here’s to hoping,” he remarked.
