CHARLOTTE, N.C. — President Biden will be visiting families of the officers who were killed in a Charlotte standoff later today.
The visit comes the same day the president is supposed to make an appearance in Wilmington. A person familiar with the matter told the Associated Press that the visit to Charlotte is in addition to and not a replacement for the trip to Wilmington.
The officers were shot and killed as they attempted to serve two warrants in Charlotte on Monday, city officials said. Four other officers suffered non-life-threatening injuries in the incident.
After the attack, Biden expressed his condolences and support for the community, calling the slain officers “heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice, rushing into harm’s way to protect us.”
“We must do more to protect our law enforcement officers. That means funding them – so they have the resources they need to do their jobs and keep us safe. And it means taking additional action to combat the scourge of gun violence. Now,” Biden said in a statement, calling on leaders in Congress to pass a ban on assault weapons, among other gun control measures.
Also on Wednesday, a local police chief said that an officer from his force who was shot Monday underwent surgery and is expected to make a full recovery. David W. Onley, the police chief of Statesville in the Charlotte metropolitan area, expressed condolences Wednesday and “unwavering solidarity with our law enforcement brethren during this difficult time,” according to a statement released by his office.
One of the four officers injured in the attack was Cpl. Casey Hoover of the Statesville Police Department, who served on the task force. He was shot in his upper torso – an area unprotected by his bulletproof vest.
Hoover was taken by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department to a Charlotte hospital, where he underwent surgery. Onley said the officer, who has worked for the Statesville police for eight years, is now stable and is expected to make a full recovery and “exemplifies the bravery and resilience of our law enforcement community.”
Law enforcement officers were still investigating Wednesday, attempting to determine a precise timeline of events and whether Hughes acted alone or with a second shooter.
Suspect Terry Clark Hughes Jr., 39, has a criminal record in North Carolina that goes back more than a decade. It includes prison time and convictions for breaking and entering, reckless driving, eluding arrest and illegally possessing a gun as a former felon, according to state records.
The attack was the deadliest day for U.S. law enforcement in one incident since five officers were killed by a sniper during a protest in Dallas in 2016.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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