One person was arrested Tuesday evening in connection to a Sunday mass shooting in Catawba County.
Garon Nathaniel Killian, 20, of Lenoir, was arrested Tuesday on one count of attempted first-degree murder, according to a press release from the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office. The shooting happened Sunday at about 12:45 a.m. at a house party on Walnut Acres Drive in the Mountain View area. One person was killed and 11 people were injured. Killian is being held under no bond in the Newton Detention Facility and had a first appearance in Catawba County District Court on Wednesday, according to the release.
Earlier this year, Killian was charged with seven felony counts of attempted first-degree murder and seven felony counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill in April, according to a previous Hickory Daily Record article.
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Law enforcement executed multiple search warrants on Tuesday as part of the ongoing investigation, the sheriff’s office said. More arrests are expected, the sheriff’s office said.
41 911 calls placed
There were 41 calls placed to the Catawba County 911 Communications Center on Sunday referencing the shooting. Some of the 911 calls include people yelling and praying, Catawba County Assistant District Attorney Tim Gould said. A Superior Court judge sealed the 911 calls on Tuesday, allowing the county to not release the recordings. Calls placed to 911 are considered public records under North Carolina General Statues. Gould said the reason District Attorney Scott Reilly’s office motioned to have the 911 calls sealed was to protect the rights of any potential defendants and prevent any undermining of the active investigation. “Part of our job at the DA’s office is to ensure the rights of defendants,” Gould said. “Some of these are very harsh 911 calls to be heard. There’s screaming, yelling, praying, people potentially bleeding out and dying.”
A hearing was held on Tuesday in Catawba County Superior Court to determine if the calls would be sealed. Judge Donald Cureton presided over the hearing. Cureton said he reviewed 41 calls connected to the case. Gould was joined in court by attorney Josh Teague, who was representing Catawba County. Maj. Aaron Turk with the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office was also present in the courtroom. “There are things, statements, things on those recordings that I would argue are pertinent to the investigation that are not known to the public at large,” Teague said. “I would argue that as the investigation proceeds, having those things come out into the public light could likely impede the investigation or undermine this investigation.”
Teague said more than four news outlets had requested the 911 calls prior to the hearing. The district attorney’s office filed the motion to seal the calls on Monday. “We have a party here with somewhere between 70 to 100 people, witnesses, shooters, also included in that number. A lot of people have not been interviewed,” Gould said. “We have people on these 911 calls that have also not been interviewed.”
Cureton said he decided to seal the calls to protect the investigation and the future defendants’ rights, but also to protect the identities of witnesses since the shooter or shooters are still at large.
Garon Nathaniel Killian, 20, of Lenoir, is charged with one count of attempted first-degree murder. The Catawba County Sheriff’s Office announced the arrest around 7 p.m. on Tuesday. The sheriff’s office said more arrests and charges are anticipated.
Details, new information on shooting
Catawba County deputies were called to 1125 Walnut Acres Drive around 12:45 a.m. on Sunday in reference to an active shooting.
Catawba County Sheriff’s Office Maj. Aaron Turk spoke at a press conference on Tuesday. Turk said the initial shots appeared to have been fired from an elevated area near the tree line of a neighboring yard to where the party was being held. Partygoers who were armed also fired shots.
Turk said the party was advertised on social media and party promoters were taking money for entry into the event. A flyer posted on the social media platform Snapchat advertised the event as a topless pool party. Turk said the sheriff’s office has seen similar flyers. More than 80 shell casings were found at the scene. About 100 people were at the party at the time of the shooting. Turk said the Federal Bureau of Investigation was still processing the scene as of Tuesday afternoon. The sheriff’s office was called to the house earlier in the night for a noise complaint. Deputies left after the music was turned down, Turk said previously. Turk said the sheriff’s office, along with the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, are making significant progress in the case. Only one victim has been identified as of Tuesday afternoon. The victim who died was 58-year-old Shawn Patrick Hood, of Lenoir. Turk said Tuesday that Hood was there helping with party promotion.
The sheriff’s office said not all the injured victims were shot. Some were injured while trying to get away from the shooting, Turk said. The victims’ ages ranged from 16 to 58. Four were still in the hospital as of Monday.
Investigators asked area residents and business owners to send security camera footage from the evening of May 31 to the morning of June 1 to the sheriff’s office. The sheriff’s office specifically requested footage from N.C. Highway 127, Huffman Farm Road and Pittstown Road. The request was extended on Tuesday to include all of Bethel Chapel Road. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has set up a and is offering a $15,000 reward for information leading to charges in this case. The sheriff’s office can be reached at 828-464-3112.