1 dead, 11 injured in mass shooting at North Carolina house party: Sheriff
One person was killed and at least 11 others injured early Sunday when gunfire broke out during a house party in Catawba County, North Carolina, authorities said.
The shooting occurred at around 12:45 a.m. at a residence in Mountain View, about 60 miles northwest of Charlotte, according to a social media statement posted by the Catawba County Sheriff's Office.
"Our investigation indicates more than one shooter was involved in the incident. We are still working to determine when they arrived, how they arrived, what their reasoning was for their presence. Also, their motive," Maj. Aaron Turk of the Catawba County Sheriff's Department said at a news conference Sunday afternoon.
Turk said that the crime scene, which was estimated to be around two acres, was still being processed for evidence by investigators. When asked by a reporter how many shots were fired in the incident, Turk said, "As I stand here, more than 80 shots were fired."
Turk said the shooting erupted at a residence where a party attended by as many as 100 people was in progress.
He said the shooting occurred nearly two hours after deputies had gone to the same residence after getting a noise complaint. Turk said those attending the party complied with orders from the deputies to turn down the music.
Turk said investigators have uncovered no evidence indicating the shooting was connected to the earlier noise complaint.
Catawba County sheriff's deputies and officers from the nearby Hickory Police Department went to the house after multiple 911 callers reported multiple people being shot, Turk said.
One of the shooting victims was pronounced dead at the scene, Turk said.
The Catawba County Sheriff's Office identified the man killed in the shooting as 58-year-old Shawn Patrick Hood of Lenoir, North Carolina.
Of the 11 others wounded, one was in critical condition and several remained hospitalized, officials said.
No arrests have so far been announced. Investigators from the Hickory Police Department, special agents with the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, the FBI and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were at the scene of the shooting Sunday afternoon attempting establish a motive for the deadly violence and identify those responsible, Catawba County Sheriff Donald G. Brown II said at Sunday afternoon's news conference.
"I want everyone to know that we are going to work together tirelessly and diligently to identify the individuals who are responsible for this act," Brown said.
Witnesses told ABC Charlotte affiliate station WSOC that many of those attending the party were local high school students.
"As soon as I heard the shots, everybody started scattering off, ducking our heads, running off toward our cars, toward safety. And I called my friend and he said, 'call 911. I need help,'" one of the teenage partygoers told WSOC.
