Administration of Joseph R. Biden, Jr., 2024

April 29, 2024

Earlier today four brave law enforcement officersâincluding a deputy U.S. marshalâwere killed in the line of duty. They are heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice, rushing into harm's way to protect us. We mourn for them and their loved ones. And we pray for the recoveries of the courageous officers who were wounded.

When a law enforcement officer puts on that shield in the morning and heads out the door, their family members dread the phone call, the very call that came today. It's like losing a piece of your soul. To the families of those we lost: Jill and I, and all Americans, are here for you. And we will always be here for you.

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 violenceânow. Leaders in Congress need to step up so that we ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, require safe storage of guns, and pass universal background checks and a national "red flag" law. Enough is enough.

May God Bless these fallen heroes.

NOTE: The statement referred to Ofc. Joshua Eyer of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD), Deputy U.S. Marshal Thomas M. Weeks, Jr., and Officers Samuel Poloche and W. Alden Elliott of the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction, members of the U.S. Marshals Service Carolinas Regional Fugitive Task Force, who were killed in a shooting while attempting to serve an arrest warrant in Charlotte, NC, on April 29; and CMPD Officers Christopher Tolley, Michael Giglio, Jack Blowers, and Justin Campbell, who were injured in the shooting.

Categories: Statements by the President : Shooting of law enforcement officers in Charlotte, NC.

Names: Biden, Jill T.; Blowers, Jack; Campbell, Justin; Elliott, W. Alden; Eyer, Joshua; Giglio, Michael; Poloche, Samuel; Tolley, Christopher; Weeks, Thomas M., Jr.

Subjects: Gun purchase background checks, improvement efforts; Gun violence, prevention efforts; Law enforcement officers, service and dedication; North Carolina, shooting of law enforcement officers in Charlotte; State and local law enforcement, Federal support.

DCPD Number: DCPD202400348.

1