President Joe Biden on Thursday will meet with the families of four law enforcement officers who were killed in a shooting in Charlotte, North Carolina, earlier this week, the White House announced.
The four officers, including one deputy US marshal, were killed Monday while attempting to serve a warrant for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The officers were met with gunfire from a “high-powered rifle” and returned fire, fatally shooting the suspect, according to the local police chief.
Following the killing, Biden spoke with Democratic North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and issued a statement mourning the four officers – whom he called “heroes” – while making the case for more funding for police departments and a ban on assault weapons.
“We must do more to protect our law enforcement officers,” Biden said in the statement Monday. “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 also called on Congress to take action, adding, “Enough is enough.”
“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,” the president said.
As of Tuesday, 136 officers have been shot in the line of duty this year, according to the Fraternal Order of Police, an organization representing US law enforcement officers. Twenty of those officers died.
While in Charlotte, the president will also meet with officers wounded in the shooting. Biden will then travel to Wilmington, North Carolina, for an event where he’s expected to discuss infrastructure and jobs while touting his legislative wins.
CNN’s Devon M. Sayers, Shawn Nottingham and Emma Tucker contributed to this report.
