President Joe Biden is to travel to Charlotte, N.C., on Thursday to meet with the families of law enforcement killed in a shoutout earlier this week. Photo by Ron Sachs/UPI | License Photo
May 2 (UPI) — President Joe Biden is to travel to North Carolina on Thursday to meet with families of four police officers who were killed earlier this week in a shootout.
The trip to Charlotte to meet with grieving family members is one of two North Carolina stops Biden will be making. He will travel to Wilmington on Thursday afternoon to address drinking water lead pipe replacement.
The president is scheduled to arrive at Charlotte Douglas International Airport where he will “pay his respects to the brave law enforcement officers killed and wounded in the line of duty,” on Monday, the White House said in a statement to reporters.
“The president will meet with families of the fallen heroes, the wounded law enforcement officers and other law enforcement officers and elected officials,” it said.
The meeting with the families at the airport will be closed to the press.
Four law enforcement officers, including three U.S. Marshals, were killed and four others were wounded Monday in a shootout that erupted in a residential area of Charlotte as they were attempting to serve an arrest warrant.
The suspected gunman, identified as 39-year-old Terry Clark Hughes Jr., was also killed in the firefight.
Following the officers’ deaths, Biden released a statement describing them as “heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice.”
Biden has called for increased funding for law enforcement while simultaneously seeking stricter gun laws as he seeks to curb gun violence, which has accounted for more than 5,300 deaths and nearly 10,000 injuries so far this year, according to The Gun Violence Archive.
At the Wilmington Convention Center, Biden will announce a $3 billion commitment to replace toxic lead pipes, which the Environmental Protection Agency will administer. The funding is being made available through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
The White House said the funding will be available to every state and territory to help replace lead pipes that have endangered the safety of drinking water throughout the country.
“The president will deliver remarks on how his Investing in America agenda is rebuilding our infrastructure and creating good-paying jobs in Wilmington and across the country,” the White House said in a statement.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development also will announce $90 million that will be made available to reduce health hazards in public housing, such as lead-based paint, mold, asbestos and carbon monoxide.
“Beyond replacing lead pipes, these broader investments are helping to expand access to clean drinking water, improve wastewater and sanitation infrastructure, and remove per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination in water,” the White House said.