The U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force was serving an arrest warrant at a home in east Charlotte on Monday when the officers were met with gunshots. The suspect, who had a lengthy criminal record in North Carolina, shot multiple officers during the standoff.
Four of those officers died. They were identified as Deputy U.S. Marshal Thomas Weeks, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Officer Joshua Eyer and North Carolina Department of Adult Correction officers Samuel Poloche and William “Alden” Elliott. Five other officers were injured during the operation.
Frank Siller, chairman and CEO of the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, said, “This unspeakable act of violence changed an entire city. Four families now face a future without a husband and father and the city of Charlotte lost four guardians who spent decades working to keep the community safe.”
To honor the fallen, Tunnel to Towers will pay off the mortgage or provide a mortgage-free home for the families. The organization’s First Responder Home Program covers the cost of housing for families of law enforcement and firefighters who are killed in the line of duty or die from illnesses related to 9/11.
Multiple fundraisers have been started to support the families of the officers killed in last week’s shooting.