Authorities on Tuesday identified the deceased suspect believed to be the shooter who killed four law enforcement officers. when they were attempting to serve him with a warrant in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Monday afternoon.
Terry Clark Hughes Jr., 39, was killed in an exchange of gunfire Monday after he allegedly fired a high-powered rifle at a U.S. Marshals task force that included local law enforcement officers, according to Charlotte-Mecklenburg police.
Hughes also allegedly wounded four other officers in the shootout before being fatally shot in the front yard of the home where officers had attempted to detain him.
The suspect He had a long criminal record dating back almost 15 yearsincluding a home invasion conviction in Person County in 2010, according to NBC News affiliate WCNC in Charlotte.
He was arrested in 2012 after making a U-turn to avoid a checkpoint and leading police on a high-speed chase. At the time, he was wanted on multiple warrants in numerous counties for failing to appear in court.
He was arrested on multiple drug charges in 2021 and charged with felony fleeing to elude arrest in connection with a Jan. 6 incident in Lincoln County.
AR-15 rifle recovered from suspect’s house
Police said Tuesday they recovered an AR-15 assault rifle and a .40-caliber handgun. from the scene in the 5000 block of Galway Drive, in the Shannon Park neighborhood.
Additional magazines and ammunition for both firearms were also recovered from the scene, where there were believed to be more than 100 projectiles and shell casings, according to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Johnny Jennings.
“I can’t express how much I am grateful for these officers and their heroic act,” Jennings said during a news conference Tuesday. “To me that’s truly heroic: when you hear the gunshots and the rapid fire and they run right towards them because they know there are people who need help.”
The four law enforcement officers killed during the shooting were identified as Sam Poloche, 42; William “Alden” Elliott, 46, both 14-year veterans of the North Carolina Department of Adult Corrections; Deputy United States Marshal Thomas M. Weeks Jr.; and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Officer Joshua Eyer, authorities said.
The researchers They are investigating how Hughes acquired the weapons and whether other shooters were involved, Jennings said Tuesday.
A teenager and a woman who were in the home at the time are cooperating in the investigation, he added.
The four CMPD officers who were also injured in the incident were identified Tuesday as Christopher Tolley, Michael Giglio and Jack Blowers, who were shot, and Justin Campbell, who suffered a broken foot, police said.
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