- Fire was opened in the US state of North Carolina.
- Four police officers pay for the operation with their lives.
- Fatal incidents involving firearms occur again and again in the USA.
Four police officers were killed and several injured in a shooting in the US state of North Carolina. On Monday afternoon (local time), the police visited a man in the city of Charlotte with a criminal record who had an arrest warrant for illegal possession of a firearm, said the responsible police chief, Johnny Jennings, in a press conference.
Legend:
Four police officers were killed and several were injured in a shooting in Norgh Carolina, the police chief in charge announced at a press conference.
Keystone/KHADEJEH NIKOUYEH
When they arrived at his home, a man opened fire in the front yard. The police then also fired and fatally shot the shooter, said Jennings. More shots were fired from the house. The police finally managed to secure the building and arrest two people in the house. They would now be interrogated.
Eight police officers were shot during the operation, said Jennings. Three succumbed to their injuries at the scene and one later died in hospital. “Today we lost some heroes who were simply committed to keeping our community safe,” Jennings said. “If we put on this uniform, we have no guarantee that we will return home.”
Firearms in circulation in the USA on a massive scale
Firearms are readily available and widely circulated in the United States. Attacks with many victims regularly shock the country – for example at schools, supermarkets, nightclubs or at large events.
But private arguments, police checks, disputes between criminals and gangs also end in death far more often than in other countries because so many people in the USA carry weapons.