Eight law officers were shot on Monday, four fatally, as a US Marshals fugitive task force tried to serve a warrant in Charlotte, North Carolina, police said, in one of the deadliest days for law enforcement in recent years.

Around 1.30pm (local time), members of the task force went to serve a warrant on a person for being a felon in possession of a firearm, Johnny Jennings, the chief of police of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, said at a news conference Monday evening.

When they approached the residence, the suspect, later identified as Terry Clark Hughes Jr., fired at them, police said. The officers returned fire and struck Hughes, 39. He was later pronounced dead in the front yard of the residence.

As police approached the shooter, Jennings told reporters, the officers were met with more gunfire from inside the home. After a long standoff, two women in the home were taken to a police station to be interviewed, the police later said in a statement.

“Today is an absolutely tragic day for the city of Charlotte and for the profession of law enforcement,” Jennings said. “Today, we lost some heroes that are out simply trying to keep our community safe.”