CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Multiple law enforcement officers leading a task force operation were shot and killed Monday afternoon while under fire in Charlotte, North Carolina , announced the police.
Officers from multiple agencies of the U.S. Marshals Task Force were conducting an investigation in a suburban neighborhood when “a subject” began shooting at them, Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
Several victims were taken to hospital and shooting continued at the scene for several minutes. A SWAT team was in the neighborhood on the city’s east side, police said.
Nearly two hours after the shooting began, police said the scene was still unsafe and promised to provide more information “as soon as the situation stabilizes.”
Authorities did not say how many officers were hit by gunfire. WSOC-TV said their helicopter captured an armored vehicle driving through yards and knocking over recycling bins before officers evacuated a person with blood on his shirt who was then loaded into an ambulance.
Many roads in the area were closed so ambulances could get to hospitals more quickly. Television images showed ambulances speeding towards hospitals with several vehicles equipped with sirens in front and behind them.
Police urged people to stay away from the area and asked residents to stay home.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said he has been in contact with law enforcement in Charlotte and has offered all state resources to help.
Authorities did not immediately clarify the nature of the task force’s operation or what exactly it was doing when the gunfire erupted.
The Carolinas Regional Fugitive Task Force is headquartered in Charlotte and includes 70 federal, state and local agencies. Fugitive task forces are collaborations between agencies to search for and arrest crime suspects.
In six years, the regional task force has apprehended more than 8,900 fugitives, the U.S. Marshals Service said on its website.
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