CMPD reveals new details on Charlotte shootout that left 4 law officers, suspect dead

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Saturday, June 1, 2024
CMPD reveals new details on shootout that left 4 law officers dead
"The suspect was responsible for all who were shot in the line of duty that day," Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police said Friday.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WTVD) -- The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department held a briefing Friday evening with an update on the investigation into the deadly shooting of four law enforcement officers last month.

In April, the law officers were shot and killed as they attempted to serve two warrants in Charlotte. Four other officers were injured during the incident.

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The four law enforcement officers who were killed were later identified as Deputy U.S. Marshal Thomas Weeks Jr., 48; North Carolina Department of Adult Correction veterans Sam Poloche and Alden Elliott; and CMPD officer Joshua Eyer.

The four were members of the U.S. Marshals Carolinas Regional Fugitive Task Force.

At a media briefing Friday, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police released new details into the deadly shooting of 4 law officers.

Deputy Police Chief Tonya Arrington said that more than 1,100 videos were obtained after the shooting.

Arrington showed diagrams of the home the suspect, Terry Clark Hughes Jr., was in at the time of the incident. She said Hughes was able to move back and forth between the windows of the home. Arrington also said the investigation found that Hughes told a woman inside at the time to get out or get down before he fired at officers with an AR-15 rifle.

Hughes then jumped out of the front second-story window during the shootout with officers that lasted more than 17 minutes. He was gunned down and died in the front yard, Arrington said.

Investigators said they did not find evidence of "friendly fire."

"We can confirm that the suspect was responsible for all who were shot in the line of duty that day," Arrington said.

She went on to say that after Hughes was shot down, officers moved toward the home to gather any wounded personnel. When officers approached, Arrington said officers said they saw movement from the window where gunfire was previously coming from and pointed their guns at the window.

She said two women were inside the home a the time of the shooting but no other guns were found after it was cleared by a SWAT team.

Investigators collected evidence from 1,128 body-worn cameras, 8,903 images, 65 officer interviews, and 765 pieces of evidence, Arrington said.