ROANOKE RAPIDS — The community came together Tuesday afternoon at Centennial Park to pay respect to law enforcement officers who fell during Monday’s shooting in Charlotte.

On Monday, Officer Joshua Eyer with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, North Carolina Department of Corrections Officers Samuel Poloche and William Elliott and U.S. Marshals Deputy Thomas Weeks were killed while serving a warrant.

A press conference held by CMPD on Tuesday provided an update.

Division Commander Lt. Kevin Pietrus of CMPD’s Public Affairs Division said four officers were killed and four others were injured during the shooting.

“Words simply cannot express the impact of this event to the law enforcement and the first responder community,” Pietrus said.

He said members of the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force were attempting to serve an active felony warrant on a male in a home in the 5000 block of Galloway Drive. Pietrus said during that encounter, the wanted suspect discharged a firearm, striking multiple officers who requested immediate assistance. He said as additional officers arrived, the gunfire continued, and more offices were struck. Pietrus said the suspect fled the residence with a firearm and was shot by law enforcement on the front lawn of the residence.

He said officers were rushed to the hospital, and three of the four injured task force officers were pronounced dead at the hospital.

“On behalf of the entire Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, our condolences go out to the Department of Adult Corrections and the United States Marshal Service,” Pietrus said. “We grieve with you, and our prayers are with you.”

He continued and said Eyer, a six-year veteran with CMPD, later succumbed to his injuries Monday evening. Pietrus said a law enforcement procession escorted Eyer’s body to the medical examiner’s office later that night.

“The investigation into this incident remains active and is being led by the CMPD Homicide Unit,” he said. “Many details remain uncertain at this point.”

CMPD Chief Johnny Jennings said the incident has remained heavy on the shoulders of all agencies involved, including on the community and nation. Jennings provided an update on the other four injured where one officer who was shot underwent surgery and was recovering, another two were treated and released, and one officer was treated for a broken foot.

“I can’t tell you how much I am grateful for these officers and their heroic act,” he said. “We saw what I mentioned yesterday — officers going into the line of fire to save their brothers in blue that have gone down in the act of trying to keep our community safe. To me, that’s truly heroic when you hear the gunshots and the rapid-fire, and they’re running directly into it because they know that there are people that need help, and they risked their own lives to do that.”

Jennings said investigators recovered an AR-15 rifle, a 40 caliber handgun, ammunition, and magazines and confirmed that the suspect killed was the individual the warrant was out for and was going to be arrested for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He said 12 CMPD officers fired their service weapon during the incident and have been placed on administrative leave. Jennings said the incident will continue to be investigated as standard through interviews internally and within the criminal internal investigation.

“This is certainly a tragedy that’s going to impact, I would say, our country for a very long time,” he said. “It’s a scar on Charlotte, but a scar that won’t heal. We’re a resilient profession and a resilient city and we will certainly get through this. But it will take time and it will take support from all of our community as our officers continue to keep our community safe, even through this tragedy.”

Gov. Roy Cooper also attended the press conference.

“Yesterday, eight families had to be told that their loved one had been shot in the line of duty,” Cooper said. “It was news they hoped would never come. Tragically, four of those families have made the ultimate sacrifice. Yesterday, North Carolina and this country lost four heroes and saw four other heroes wounded. For these members of this U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg police on patrol, who responded so quickly and so bravely when help with needed — dangerous assignments are part of the job that they step up and do it anyway to protect our communities and to protect our families. The investigation into this tragic, brutal, deadly attack will result in more answers that we don’t know today, and I expect it to find those answers and to help bring to justice people for these needless deaths of these brave officers. We can never ever fill the void that they leave behind, and we can never fully thank them for what they do to keep us safe. But today, we can remember them and honor their lives, help their families, and support their fellow officers.”

The incident struck home in many communities, to where Chief C. Shane Guyant of the Roanoke Rapids Police Department called for a community prayer Tuesday afternoon at Centennial Park.

During the community prayer, many in the community came in support and to honor those law enforcement officers who fell and were injured during Monday’s incident.

Guyant thanked everyone attending on short notice and said it was something that needed to occur and to show support during the heartbreaking time.

“The last 24 hours have truly been heartbreaking for so many people across our state,” he said. “We will continue to support our brothers and sisters in blue as much as we can. We will provide them a shoulder to cry on or whatever we can to navigate through yesterday’s tragic attack on law enforcement officers.”

Guyant offered, on behalf of RRPD, condolences to the agencies and families of the four men who lost their lives.

“These four men made the ultimate sacrifice,” he said. “Their lives and service will never be forgotten.”

Guyant also prayed for the continued recovery of other officers injured.

“Today is a somber occasion, but one that we hope can bring some semblance of peace through prayer,” he said.

Guyant called upon Greg Page, chaplain for RRPD, to offer words of comfort and prayer.

“They didn’t know that morning when they suited up that they weren’t going to come home that night,” Page said. “One young man had a 3-year-old son; the other ones had children as well. All I can do is encourage you that the reason we do what we do, is because we love people and we want to protect and serve. And it’s not a job. Anybody’s got that kind of job, might want to resign. This is a calling.”

Guyant agreed that the profession in law enforcement is a calling and called upon pastors Jason Yeatts of East Tenth Street Christian Church and Orin Perry of The House of Mandate for remarks.

Yeatts echoed what Page said and prayed for the families but also reflected on the city’s law enforcement and firefighters.

“They go into harm’s way every day,” he reminded everyone.

Yeatts said people could read about it in the local newspaper, where the city and county agencies face challenges and danger daily.

“But there is danger in every city,” he said. “But man, I am grateful for everyone that goes into harm’s way, either into property, into situations that are dangerous, or those that face an armed threat. And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that also is a reality in our hospital. So thank you for our security at the hospital as well, because you do work that we don’t see.”

Perry said, “As we decompress, day to day, we need somebody that knows how to pray concerning who we are and why we do what we do. So I’m going to give a brief prayer as well because, again, we can’t get enough of prayer. And as you all are standing out there, we want to pray that God will protect us and we will not have to hear the cries that we’ve heard all over the world, that God will continue to strengthen us and give us one mind, one spirit in unity.”

A mother from Rocky Mount, Whitney Jackson, brought her three children to the prayer ceremony in Roanoke Rapids after hearing about it on short notice. Jackson said the communities need more prayer moments like the one held at Centennial Park.

“I think it was really sweet,” she said. “We need a lot of prayer, especially for families. We lose officers every day, everywhere.”

Capt. Gorton Williams with RRPD said it was good for the community to come together in light of the incident.

“We had brothers who lost their lives and brothers that were injured,” Williams said. “Like he said, we suit up every day and then when we go out here, and we don’t ever know if we are coming home. We stay prayed up and we put on our shield, put on our arm and go out here and protect and serve the community. We just pray to God hoping that we come back home. We just pray for the families.”

Sgt. Antonio Seward with RRPD said he has been with the department for three years with nine years in law enforcement.

“It’s tough because I served a warrant last week, and that could have happened to me,” Seward said. “We all have to have to empathize with each other because we all do the same job, and we understand. It’s a type of empathy because we can understand cause we do it.”