Murder Suspect Jonathan Bennett Ambushes Police Officers, Dies Following Shootout

A man wanted for allegedly killing the mother of his infant daughter was shot dead Thursday night after he ambushed police officers outside the Charlotte-Mecklenburg police (CMPD) headquarters in North Carolina.

Police were searching for Jonathan Bennett who was on the run after allegedly killing Brittany White, his 24-year-old girlfriend and mother of his child Thursday afternoon. White was shot and pronounced dead at a residence in West Charlotte, according to WFAE.

The baby, Journei Bennett was missing from the scene, sparking a huge search and an amber alert to be issued. ABC affiliate WSOC-TV cited an unnamed source saying the search was called off after someone dropped Journei off at a north Charlotte home.

The police continued to search for Bennett who was described as about 5 feet 8 inches tall, weighing 210 pounds and having black hair and brown eyes. He also had a tattoo of a crown with the word "King" on his neck, in the middle of his Adam's apple.

Bennett ambushed police officers outside the headquarters late Thursday and shot one officer in the leg before being killed by return fire from the police.

The incident happened late Thursday night, when six to eight officers were in the parking lot of the building and were being briefed on an unrelated case. Bennett arrived in a white car and fired multiple bullets at the officers. One officer was shot in the leg and taken to Carolinas Medical Center. The injuries of the officer were not considered life threatening.

"He ambushed us," Police Chief Kerr Putney told reporters at a press conference following the incident.

Bennett himself was critically injured and was taken to the hospital where he died, Putney said, according to local publication the News and Observer.

NBC affiliate WCNC reported that state records showed Bennett was a convicted felon and served time in prison in 2013 for breaking and entering and larceny.

Records from the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office showed he was arrested twice last year, once on March 30 for assaulting a female and misdemeanor larceny and for the second time on April 6 for threatening a person. He also was arrested for similar charges on Oct. 30, 2016.

Bennett’s neighbors asked him to turn himself in while he was on the run.

One of them Vincent Tillery said: "I'm at a loss for words. I don't understand why you did what you did. You could've talked it out or came and talked to me."

Putney added it was doubtful whether there would be any body camera footage from the shooting outside CMPD headquarters because it was an ambush.

"Times like this make you appreciate the people who voluntarily put their lives on the line to keep us safe. Unfortunately some people use that against us," Putney said, further stating that police officers have a "dangerous job."