Woman who supplied gun in 2024 Charlotte ambush where 4 officers died arrested: CMPD
Federal agents have arrested a woman officials say supplied a gun to the felon who killed four police officers in a 2024 ambush in Charlotte, officials said Monday.
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Natasha Renee Gibbs, 42, is charged with knowingly making false or fictitious statements during the acquisition of a firearm from a licensed dealer and illegally transferring firearms, according to a statement from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.
Terry Clark Hughes Jr., a felon banned from having a weapon, shot the officers in Charlotte in a daytime shootout on Galway Drive on April 29, 2024, before he was killed by police, officials said. At that time it was the deadliest attack on U.S. law enforcement since 2016.
The four officers from a federal task force killed while serving a warrant on Hughes were Joshua Eyer, CMPD Police Officer; Thomas M. Weeks, Jr., Deputy U.S. Marshal; Sam Poloche, N.C. Department of Adult Correction Officer; and Alden Elliott, N.C. Department of Adult Correction Officer.
Officials say Gibbs purchased the firearm possessed by Hughes, according to CMPD. Agents from the ATF and U.S. Marshals arrested her in Dallas. She is scheduled to appear later this week in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Texas. She could face as much as 10 years federal prison if convicted, officials said.
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The statement did not give a relationship between Gibbs and Hughes.
CMPD Chief Estella Patterson praised the work of federal agencies to pursue the gun charge.
“The loss of four dedicated members of our law enforcement family continues to weigh heavily on all of us,” Patterson said in a statement. “We are grateful for the steadfast work of our federal partners in bringing accountability to those whose actions contributed to this tragedy that shook both our community and the nation. Purchasing a firearm for someone who is prohibited from owning one is not only illegal, it can lead directly to devastating outcomes, as we saw on April 29, 2024. We remain united with our law enforcement partners in delivering justice for those we lost.”
ATF Special Agent in charge Alicia Jones said buying a gun for someone banned from having one “can have terrible consequences.”
U.S. Marshal Terry Burgin said in the statement, “Hopefully, news of this arrest is proof that those supporting true American justice will never forget all those forever victimized on that day.”
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