Four American law enforcement officers were killed and four others were injured in a shootout that occurred during the arrest of a criminal in Charlotte, North Carolina. UNN reports this with reference to Reuters and the BBC.
Details
According to the police, at least one suspect was found dead in the yard of his house, shot dead by police officers. Two other suspects were arrested.
The shooting started when law enforcement officers tried to detain a man who had previously been convicted of a criminal offense. He was suspected of possessing firearms. The criminal barricaded himself in his house and opened fire.
The standoff lasted about three hours and ended after the police stormed the building. They used an armored car to do so, breaking windows and doors in the building.
Two other people were in the house at the time of the shootout: a woman and a 17-year-old boy, and they are being questioned by police. It is believed that at least one of them shot at law enforcement officers.
The Charlotte shooting was one of the bloodiest attacks on police officers in the United States in decades.
The US Department of Justice said in a statement that one of the four officers killed was a deputy US marshal.
"Today is an absolutely tragic day for the city of Charlotte and for the law enforcement profession. Today we lost heroes who were trying to protect our community," Jennings said.