Charlotte shooting: Four officers shot dead, four wounded, in North Carolina home siege

BBC :

Four law enforcement officers have been fatally shot and four others were wounded while serving an arrest warrant in Charlotte, North Carolina.

A suspected attacker was found dead in the front yard of a barricaded home after a standoff that lasted three hours, police said.

Two other persons of interest were taken into questioning, authorities added.

It is one of the deadliest assaults on US law enforcement in recent years.

The officers were part of a US Marshals Service-led task force. The warrant they were attempting to serve on Monday was against a felon wanted for illegally possessing a firearm.

Gunfire erupted on the suburban street as they tried to do so.

The officers returned fire at an assailant in the front yard, then more shots were fired at them from inside the home, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Johnny Jennings told a news conference. A high-powered rifle was found inside the property, he added.

“Today we lost some heroes who were out simply trying to keep our community safe,” the police chief told reporters.

He said it was the worst attack on police officers he could recall in his 30 years on the force.