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Updates: 4th officer killed has been identified, police no longer searching for 2nd shooter

House with the front damaged
Nick de la Canal
/
WFAE
A house on Galway Drive in Charlotte where four officers were shot and killed and four more injured on Monday, April 29, 2024.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police on Tuesday gave updates on the Monday afternoon shootings that left four law enforcement officers dead and five more injured.

All four officers who died have been identified. They are:

  • U.S. Marshal Deputy Thomas "T.W." Weeks, who lived in Mooresville.
  • CMPD Officer Joshua Eyer.
  • N.C. Department of Adult Correction Officers Sam Poloche and Alden Elliot, both of whom were assigned to a U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force along with Weeks.

The additional CMPD officers who were injured are expected to recover. CMPD Chief Johnny Jennings said they are:

  • Chris Tolley, who underwent surgery and remains hospitalized Tuesday. Jennings said he hopes Tolley will be released Tuesday or Wednesday.
  • Michael Giglio and Jack Blowers, who were treated for gunshot wounds and released.
  • Justin Campbell, who was treated for a broken bone.

The eighth officer who was shot has been identified as Cpl. Casey Hoover of the Statesville Police Department. The department said Tuesday that Hoover is a member of the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force. He was shot in his upper torso, taking a round in an area that was "unprotected by his bulletproof vest," and underwent surgery. He is expected to recover, Statesville officials said.

Clockwise from top left, U.S. Marshal Deputy Thomas "T.W." Weeks, CMPD Officer Joshua Eyer, N.C. Department of Adult Correction Officers Alden Elliot and Sam Poloche.
U.S. Marshalls Service/ Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department/N.C. Department of Adult Correction

Clockwise from top left, U.S. Marshal Deputy Thomas "T.W." Weeks, CMPD Officer Joshua Eyer, N.C. Department of Adult Correction Officers Alden Elliot and Sam Poloche.

The suspect has been identified as Terry Clark Hughes, Jr., 39. He fired on officers and was fatally shot by law enforcement when the U.S. Marshals Task Force went Monday to arrest him on Galway Drive in east Charlotte. He was wanted for possession of a firearm by a felon and felony flee to elude out of Lincoln County.

Mecklenburg County jail records show Hughes was arrested in 2021 on a lengthy list of charges, including maintaining a dwelling to sell controlled substances, possession with intent to sell or distribute marijuana and fleeing arrest. Criminal records show he was arrested in 2017 for driving with a revoked license, speeding and carrying a concealed gun, a misdemeanor.

Two women who were in the house with Hughes have been questioned by police but have not been charged. Jennings said they are "fully cooperating." He declined Tuesday to say what their relationship with Hughes might be, but said one is an adult and one is a 17-year-old.

Jennings said police recovered an AR-15 rifle and a .40-caliber handgun used by the suspect, as well as additional magazines and ammunition for each.

Flowers on the ground
Nick de la Canal
/
WFAE News
Flowers left on the ground outside CMPD headquarters in Charlotte

The timeline for Monday's events became clearer, but significant questions remain. Here's what Jennings said about Monday's shootings:

  • U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force officers approached the house on Galway Drive to arrest Hughes at about 1:30 p.m. Someone opened fire on them from inside the house, Jennings said. The officers took fire from the front and back of the house. Jennings said the shooter was on an upstairs floor, firing down on officers with a rifle as they scrambled for cover. The rifle's rounds were powerful enough to pierce officers' body armor.
  • The task force officers called for backup and returned fire. Jennings said four CMPD officers, including Eyer, were shot as they rushed to help. Eyer died of his wounds Monday night. Jennings said Eyer and other officers ran into the line of fire attempting to reach wounded officers.
    "We saw what I mentioned yesterday, officers going into the line of fire to save their brothers in blue who have gone down in the act of trying to keep our community safe. To me, that's truly heroic," he said.
  • Hughes came out of the house and was shot and killed by officers in the front yard.
  • An hourslong standoff ensued, with neighbors posting photos of police officers running with guns while shots echoed through the suburban neighborhood. As late as roughly 3 p.m., police said there was still "active gunfire."
  • A SWAT team cleared the house several hours later, shortly before 5 p.m., and took the two females inside into custody.
  • All four officers who were fatally wounded were pronounced dead at a hospital in hours that followed.

Police backed away from their assertion Tuesday that there had been two shooters. On Monday, Jennings had said a second shooter opened fire when officers approached the suspect's body. But on Tuesday, he said that, while police aren't dismissing the possibility of a second shooter, they're not seeking any other suspects.
Jennings said they're trying to sort through chaotic bodycam footage and other evidence to figure out who shot, where, and when. Jennings also said he had made some "pretty forward remarks" on Monday about a second shooter, and that one reason police thought there was a second shooter was that they had been fired at from both the front and back of the house.

Bullet holes and broken window
Nick de la Canal
/
WFAE News
Bullet holes in the siding and broken windows at a house on Galway Drive where four officers were shot and killed and four more injured on Monday, April 29.

Condolences and expressions of sympathy from elected leaders poured in, from President Biden to local officials.

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Ely Portillo has worked as a journalist in Charlotte for over a decade. Before joining WFAE, he worked at the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute and the Charlotte Observer.