President Biden met Thursday with the families of the four law enforcement officers killed earlier this week while trying to serve an arrest warrant in Charlotte, North Carolina, the White House announced.
“These are heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice to rush into harm’s way to protect us. We mourn for the fallen heroes and their loved ones and we pray for the recovery of the courageous officers who were wounded,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Thursday.
Mr. Biden had already planned to visit North Carolina on Thursday to announce $3 billion in federal funding to replace lead pipes throughout the country. He will make a stop in Charlotte beforehand to meet with the fallen officers’ families.
Three of the officers who died Monday were members of the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force, including two with the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction. The fourth officer was with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.
The fallen officers were Thomas M. Weeks Jr., a U.S. marshal assigned to the Fugitive Task Force; Samuel “Sam” Poloche, with the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction; William “Alden” Elliot, with the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction; and Joshua Eyer, a six-year veteran of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.
Another five officers were shot in the incident. The suspect, Terry Clark Hughes Jr., was killed at the scene and police are currently holding two other people in relation to the shooting.
Hughes was wanted for possession of a firearm by a felon in Lincoln County, which sits about 30 miles northwest of Charlotte.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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