HICKORY – Gunfire erupted around a house party in western North Carolina early Sunday and one person was killed and 11 others were hurt, some with gunshot wounds and others with injuries from fleeing the shooting in a usually quiet residential neighborhood, sheriff’s deputies said.
Authorities said at least 80 shots were fired in the shooting that began at about 12:45 a.m. People reported running, ducking for cover and scrambling to their cars for safety. Hours later Sunday, law enforcement had made no arrests and was seeking tips from the public in the case.
A statement from the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office said a 58-year-old man, Shawn Patrick Hood, of Lenoir, was killed, the oldest of the victims who ranged in age from as young as 16. It said seven of the injured remained hospitalized late Sunday, though updates on their conditions were not immediately released. One of the victims was previously reported in critical condition.
Authorities believe there was more than one shooter, a sheriff’s spokesperson said. The agency said it was asking for people who attended the party to contact the office.
Sheriff’s office Maj. Aaron Turk aid at a news conference that the shooting occurred in a normally quiet neighbhoord in southwest Catawba County about 7 miles (11 kilometers) south of the city of Hickory.
He said that about two hours before the shooting, someone in another home complained about noise from the party. He added that deputies responded but that investigators don’t believe the noise complaint was the motivation for the shooting.
Turk said the crime scene spanned several properties along a neighborhood road, covering about two acres (0.8 hectares), and included outdoor and indoor areas.
The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation and the Hickory Police Department are investigating the shooting. The FBI is also assisting in the case with a specialized evidence response team, officials said.
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This story has been updated to correct that the total number of victims, including the person who died, is 12 and not 11 overall.
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