Man accused of firing at officers found dead

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said a man accused of shooting at officers early Tuesday morning was found dead inside an apartment in west Charlotte.

Although police have not said whether the man shot himself or was killed by an officer who returned fire, the shooting on Forestbrook Drive was the third time CMPD officers have been involved in a fatal shooting since Christmas Eve.

The shooting happened at the Glen Haven Apartments, near Queen City Drive. Police identified the dead man as Carlton Antonio Murphy, 33.

Police said someone called 911 around 5 a.m. saying shots had been fired. When officers arrived, a person began shooting at them from a second-floor balcony, police Chief Kerr Putney said at the scene. Police later said Murphy fired more than 30 shots at responding officers.

Officer Jacob Meadors returned fire, police said, and the man retreated into the apartment.

A SWAT team and negotiators were sent to the scene, CMPD said. They went inside the second-floor apartment and found the suspect dead, Putney said. Police said no officers were injured.

As the shooting was ongoing, police asked residents to stay in their homes. By about 7:15 a.m., police cars and fire engines began to leave the area.

“Our officers did a fantastic job,” Putney said, according to WBTV. “They were heroes today, and they probably saved lives.”

Meadors has been a CMPD officer for five years, all in the Freedom Division, a mix of urban and rural communities in western Mecklenburg. Meadors has been placed on administrative leave, which is routine when an officer fires his gun in the line of duty. Police say they are conducting a homicide investigation and an internal investigation, which will determine if CMPD procedures were followed.

Tuesday’s incident was the third deadly officer-involved shooting in two weeks. On Sunday, police were attempting to serve a warrant in an apartment building off Remount Road when, they said, Germonta Wallace began shooting at a group of officers. Officers returned fire, striking Wallace. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police said Wallace was a suspect in the death of a man whose body was found in a burning car near the town of Ranlo in Gaston County.

On Christmas Eve, shots were fired between two groups at Northlake Mall in north Charlotte. A responding off-duty police officer shot and killed one of the alleged gunmen who Putney said turned and pointed his weapon at the officer. Daquan Antonio Westbrook, 18, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Staff photographer Davie Hinshaw contributed.

This story was originally published January 5, 2016 at 6:15 AM with the headline "Man accused of firing at officers found dead."