Details emerge in 'deadliest attack on law enforcement in Charlotte's history' that killed four officers and injured four others

CHARLOTTE, NC - In just over twenty minutes, four law enforcement officers in Charlotte were savagely gunned down and another four injured on April 29th, 2024 while serving a warrant in what the local police union has called, "the deadliest attack on law enforcement in Charlotte's history."

The suspect was killed when 23 officers from various agencies returned fire on him striking him fatally before he jumped from a second-story window.

According to Fox News, Deputy U.S. Marshal Thomas M. Weeks Jr., North Carolina Department of Adult Correction (NCDAC) Officers Sam Poloche and William "Alden" Elliott, and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) Officer Joshua Eyer were shot and killed by Gunman Terry Hughes Jr., 39, with four additional officers injured. 

The incident was described in detail through a timeline released by Mecklenburg County District Attorney Spencer B. Merriweather III following an investigation of the 23 officers who returned fire at Hughes. The officers were cleared of any wrongdoing in the shooting.

Daniel Redford, the president of the Charlotte Fraternal Order of Police lodge told the outlet, "This is the deadliest attack on law enforcement in Charlotte's history. It is one of the deadliest, single incident attacks on law enforcement across our country. We've had to say goodbye to four heroes. If there's anything we can learn from this incident, as we do with so many other incidents, to prevent this from happening again and save officers' lives, first responders' lives, that would be the only takeaway."

Members of the U.S. Marshals Service Carolinas Regional Fugitive Task Force reportedly arrived at Hughes' home to serve a routine felony firearm warrant.

"For the officers that were on this task force that were showing up at this house on that morning, they've probably done it 100 times or more," Redford explained. "Similar … charges against the individuals to arrest. They've done it 100 to 200 times before, and it ended safely. You always keep in the back of your mind the dangers that you're going into. But you can't always think about the danger because then you're not going to be able to think clearly if that's all you're focused on."

When the officers arrived, Hughes was standing in the side door of the home and quickly retreated into the home. The task force officers addressed him with a loudspeaker and demanded he step out and surrender. within moments the DA said in a letter to CMPD Chief Johnny Jennings, Hughes opened fire with an RF-15 semi-automatic rifle.

Hughes, who had a criminal record in several counties on charges ranging from looting and eluding arrest to marijuana possession and manufacturing and driving while impaired, retreated back into the house and took up a firing position on the second floor.  He, "then moved to fire from an upstairs side window and subsequently alternated between firing from the rear and side windows," Meriweather wrote.

Officers Weeks and Poloch took cover behind a nearby tree where Weeks was struck by Hughes' fire from the second floor window. Elliot and a second officer were hit on the west side of the residence near a fence line.

Meriweather continued that Officer Eyer called in the shooting and reported that officers were down. Within minutes, "the first of hundreds" of CMPD officers began to arrive. "Officer Eyer and numerous other CMPD officers approached the rear of the decedent’s residence through the backyard of an abutting home, searching for a safe route to get to the three downed officers," he said.

Ten minutes later, Eyer and other responding officers advanced toward the treeline where Weeks had been hit and both he and Poloch were hit by additional fire as they took cover.

"Three additional CMPD officers were also shot as they took cover in various locations behind the house," Meriweather added.

Ten minutes later as officers returned fire, Hughes leapt from the second-story window still holding his rifle. WCNC reported that he was struck 12 times according to his autopsy results.  

Redford summarized the incident to the Charlotte news outlet, saying, "These men and women who all responded to this incident yesterday were courageous, because they knew what they were getting into and still showed up anyway."

Of the suspect, he said, "[The suspect is] where he belongs. I quite frankly don't have anything to say about him other than he deserves everything he got."

Charlotte's mayor Vi Lyeles said in a post to X, "I am deeply saddened by the shooting that occurred. I ask that all Charlotteans keep them, and the other injured officers, and their families in your thoughts and prayers during this incredibly difficult time."