BREAKING Canada will cut its permanent immigration levels by at least 20 per cent
Canada will lower the number of permanent immigrants it allows into the country by at least 20 per cent from its previous target of 500,000, 愛污传媒 confirmed Wednesday.
Three officers on a U.S. Marshals Task Force serving a warrant for a felon wanted for possessing a firearm were killed and five other officers were wounded in a shootout Monday at a North Carolina home, police said.
Some of the officers who rushed to the Charlotte neighbourhood to rescue the first wave of downed officers were wounded as a second shooter began firing on them after they killed the wanted man, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Johnny Jennings said.
"Today we lost some heroes who were out simply trying to keep our community safe," Jennings said at a news conference.
After a three-hour standoff, the suburban Charlotte home was torn open. Armoured vehicles smashed into it, ripping off windows and entire doorways that were left broken. Several armoured vehicles were parked across yards, some with tree branches dangling off them.
The task force was fired on by the wanted suspect as they approached the house and the man was killed in the front yard, Jennings said. His name was not released, but the chief said he was wanted as a felon illegally possessing a weapon.
A second person then fired on officers from inside the home where a high-powered rifle was found, Jennings added.
A woman and a 17-year-old male were found in the home after the standoff. The two are being questioned, Jennings said.
The Marshal's Service confirmed one of its agents was killed and did not release a name. Two officers from the state Department of Adult Correction also were killed, said North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper. The governor was in Charlotte and was speaking to the families of the officers killed and hurt.
One other member of the task force, which is made up of federal agents and other officers from across the region was injured.
Four Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers who responded to the scene were shot while trying to rescue the wounded officers. One of them remains in critical condition, Jennings said.
Neighbours said gunfire lasted for several minutes.
WSOC-TV said their helicopter captured an armoured vehicle driving through yards and knocking over recycling bins before officers removed a person with blood on their shirt who was then loaded into an ambulance.
After the home was cleared, the helicopter pilot said he couldn't show the front lawn of the home because the scene was too graphic and disturbing.
"A lot of the questions that need to be answered, we don't even know what those questions are now," Jennings said, somberly briefing reporters less than four hours after the shooting. "We have to get a full understanding of why this occurred and also uphold the integrity of the investigation."
Many roads in the area including Interstate 77 were closed so ambulances could get to hospitals faster. TV footage showed ambulances speeding to hospitals escorted by vehicles both in front and behind with their sirens wailing.
Rissa Reign was cleaning her house when she heard the first shots ring out. There was a pause, then a second set of shots and then a third. She stepped outside.
"When we came outside, there were no cops at all, then cops started rushing, rushing, rushing, rushing in," she said, adding armoured SWAT trucks quickly followed and they "were going over the grass, everything, and they started shooting again."
The neighbourhood, of one-- and two-story, brick homes and small trimmed lawns, is very safe, said Alex Rivera, who lives on a street nearby.
"I see, like, 50 police cars zooming in, and then I hear gunshots," he said on the front porch of the house he shares with his cousin. "I was scared, because there was so much going on."
Another neighbor, William Cunningham, was moved to tears as he sat on his porch. He said he is a veteran of Operation Desert Storm but never expected such violence in his own neighbourhood.
"Bless those officers and bless their families," he said. "Nobody should get killed over a warrant."
Four Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools were placed on lockdown around afternoon dismissal, but that was lifted in the late afternoon, the district said.
Police urged people to stay away from the neighbourhood and asked residents to remain inside their homes until the all clear was given.
President Joe Biden was briefed on the shooting and spoke with Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles to express his condolences and support for the community.
The last marshal shot and killed in the line of duty was in November 2018. Chase White was shot in Tucson, Arizona, by a man wanted for stalking local law enforcement officers, the agency said.
The Carolinas Regional Fugitive Task Force is headquartered in Charlotte and comprised of 70 federal, state and local agencies. Fugitive task forces are collaborations between agencies to find and arrest suspects in crimes.
In six years, the regional task force has apprehended more than 8,900 fugitives, the U.S. Marshals Service said on its website.
In March 2007, two Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police officers were killed while responding to a domestic dispute by someone not directly involved in the fight. Demeatrius Antonio Montgomery is serving a life sentence in the killings of officers Jeffrey Shelton and Sean Clark.
------
Contributing to this report were Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, South Carolina; Rebecca Reynolds in Louisville, Kentucky; and Sarah Brumfield in Silver Spring, Maryland.
Canada will lower the number of permanent immigrants it allows into the country by at least 20 per cent from its previous target of 500,000, 愛污传媒 confirmed Wednesday.
The president and CEO of New Brunswick-based Covered Bridge Potato Chips is taking an 'extended leave of absence' after being charged with domestic violence this past weekend.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the Liberal party is 'strong and united,' despite efforts from within his caucus to oust him as leader.
A memorial is growing outside a Walmart in Halifax after a 19-year-old employee was found dead inside an oven in the store Saturday night.
A search has started at Prairie Green Landfill for the remains of two victims of a serial killer.
The Bank of Canada made a sizable cut to its key lending rate Wednesday from 4.25 per cent to 3.75 per cent as the global economy continues to expand. The half percentage point cut is the fourth rate cut in a row by the central bank as inflation dropped from 2.7 per cent in June to 1.6 per cent in September.
He is a familiar face to residents of a neighbourhood just west of Roncesvalles Avenue.
McDonald鈥檚 worked Wednesday to reassure customers that its U.S. restaurants are safe as federal investigators tried to pinpoint the cause of a deadly E. coli outbreak linked to the fast-food giant's Quarter Pounder hamburgers.
Turkiye鈥檚 air force struck Kurdish militant targets in Iraq and Syria on Wednesday in apparent retaliation for an attack at a key state-run defence company that killed five people and wounded more than a dozen others.
He is a familiar face to residents of a neighbourhood just west of Roncesvalles Avenue.
A meteor lit up our region's sky last night 鈥 with a large fireball shooting across the horizon over Lake Erie at around 7:00 p.m.
Residents of Ottawa's Rideauview neighbourhood say an aggressive wild turkey has become a problem.
A man who lost his life while trying to rescue people from floodwaters, and a 13-year-old boy who saved his family from a dog attack, are among the Nova Scotians who received a medal for bravery Tuesday.
A newly minted Winnipegger is hoping a world record attempt will help bring awareness for the need for more pump track facilities in the city.
A Springfield, Ont. man is being hailed a 'hero' after running into his burning home to save his two infant children.
Hortense Anglin was the oldest graduate to make her way across the platform at York University's Fall Convocation ceremony this week. At the age of 87, she graduated with an Honours degree in Religious Studies.
Looking for a scare with good intentions this Halloween season? The ghosts and ghouls of Eganville, Ont. invite families to tour the Haunted Walk at Lekbor Manor.
The image of a sleepy Saskatchewan small town with 'not a lot going on' is a well-known anecdote. However, one Saskatchewan company is hoping to change that 鈥 and allow communities both on and off the beaten path to share their stories and advertise what they have to offer.