CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Numerous law enforcement officers conducting a task force operation were shot Monday afternoon as they came under fire in Charlotte, North Carolina, police said.
Officers from several agencies in the U.S. Marshals Task Force were carrying out an investigation in a suburban neighborhood when “a subject” began firing at them, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
Multiple victims were taken to hospitals and gunfire continued at the scene for several minutes. A SWAT team was in the neighborhood on the east side of the city, police said.
Nearly two hours after the shooting started, police said the scene was still unsafe and promised an update with more information “as soon as the situation stabilizes.”
Authorities did not say exactly how many officers were struck by gunfire. WSOC-TV said their helicopter captured an armored vehicle driving through yards and knocking over recycling bins before officers removed a person with blood on their shirt who was then loaded into an ambulance.
Many roads in the area were closed so ambulances could get to hospitals faster. TV footage showed ambulances speeding to hospitals with several vehicles with sirens on both in front and behind them.
Police urged people to stay away from the neighborhood and asked residents to remain inside their homes.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said he was in contact with law enforcement in Charlotte and offered any state resources to help.
Authorities did not immediately specify the nature of the task force operation or what exactly it was doing at the time gunfire erupted.
The Carolinas Regional Fugitive Task Force is headquartered in Charlotte with 70 federal, state and local agencies. Fugitive task forces are collaborations between agencies to find and arrest suspects in crimes.
In six years, the regional task force has apprehend more than 8,900 fugitives, the U.S. Marshals Service said on its website.