WASHINGTON: Two police officers were killed in Boone, North Carolina in a shooting incident that left five people dead, including the shooter, after a 13-hour standoff, police said Thursday.

US police, who are under scrutiny over the deaths of citizens in police shootings or during arrests, say they increasingly face high risks because of the spread of firearms across the country.

The Watauga County Sheriff's Department said the two officers, Logan Fox and Chris Ward, were killed Wednesday after visiting a resident to check on the occupants after one had not shown up for work and did not answer phone calls.

The officers were shot after entering the residence, Fox dying on the scene while Ward was evacuated to hospital where he died, the department said in a statement.

Law enforcement agencies rushed to the scene after the two officers were shot and the shooter barricaded himself in the home.—AFP