4 US officers killed, four others injured, serving warrant in North Carolina

Four law enforcement officers have been shot and killed, and four others injured, while serving a warrant in Charlotte, North Carolina, officials say. 

At least one suspected attacker was found dead in the front yard of a barricaded home after a 3-hour standoff, police say. 

Two armed suspects were involved in the shooting, authorities added. 

It is one of the deadliest assaults on US law enforcement in decades. 

The officers were attempting to serve a warrant on Monday against a felon wanted for illegally possessing a firearm when the gunfire erupted on the street. 

The officers returned shots at an assailant in the front yard, then more shots were fired at them from inside the home, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Johnny Jennings told a news conference. 

A high-powered rifle was found inside the property, he added. 

“Today we lost some heroes who were out simply trying to keep our community safe,” the police chief told reporters.

“Today we lost some heroes who were out simply trying to keep our community safe”

Shots were still being fired more than two hours after the attack began in a residential area in the east of the city, according to witnesses. 

It ended when cops stormed the home, using armoured vehicles to smash their way in, destroying windows and doorways. 

Two other people – a woman and a 17-year-old boy – who were inside the home with a suspect were being questioned, said police. It is believed at least one of them shot at officers.

US shooting in North Carolina