CHARLOTTE, N.C. — One person is dead after being shot by a police officer in South End Sunday morning.
Officers from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department were responding to a domestic violence call just before 8 a.m. when they heard gunshots from inside the apartment.
“Cops streamlined the whole road here," James Brotherton, who lives nearby, said. "A couple of fire engines pulled up here as well. And then people were talking about hearing gunshots, multiple gunshots."
Rachel Brown said her friends who live in the building were told to stay in their units and heard some of the commotion.
“They heard a woman say help me and they heard large furniture, or large bangs and crashes which is not a normal occurrence,” Brown, who lives nearby, said.
The officers forced their way inside the apartment when they found a male suspect. The officers were struggling to take the suspect into custody when he stabbed one of the officers in the neck with a knife, CMPD Police Chief Johnny Jennings said in a statement on social media.
At that point, another officer shot and killed the man, who was pronounced dead on the scene.
The injured officer and a female victim who has been shot were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
On Tuesday, CMPD identified the officers involved as Ofcs. Tyler Bourque and Shawn McMichael. Bourque was named by police as the officer who shot the suspect, while McMichael was the officer stabbed. He has since been treated for the wound and released from the hospital.
Jennings says domestic disturbance calls can be very volatile.
“They can escalate very quickly,” Jennings said. “Whether they are targeting each other or the officers that come on the scene and they are so unpredictable. That is why we say those are some of the most dangerous calls for service.”
A witness said that two people were taken out of Penrose Apartments on gurneys. Another witness said that they heard a gunshot and then police running up and down the hallway in the apartment.
The identity of the male suspect is not yet known.
Jennings added it was a close and scary call for his team.
“When you understand the work of police officers and the heroism that comes with this job,” said Jennings. “To hear gunshots…and then to force your way through a residence and not know what is on the other side of that door… but the officers know they have a duty to serve and protect and that is what they did.”
We will continue to update this story as new information arrives.
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