A party in North Carolina that was already a little too rambunctious turned deadly, leaving at least one person dead and another 11 injured.
The Catawba County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the tragic news, which happened near Hickory, North Carolina, early Sunday, according to Queen City News.
Being described as an “extremely rare” occurrence by authorities, police are still scrambling to ascertain both motive and suspects.
“This is not a common act or an incident that occurs here in Catawba County,” Catawba County Sheriff Don Brown said. “We live in a great community, and this is something that’s extremely rare.”
The Charlotte Observer reported that over 80 shots were fired in the incident.
Of the 12 victims reported, one died: 58-year-old Shawn Patrick Hood of Lenoir, North Carolina, was confirmed dead by police.
The other 11 victims were treated at local hospitals, though one victim is in critical condition, per Queen City News.
Hood appears to have been the oldest victim of the shooting at 58. The youngest victim is reportedly 16.
Seven people are still hospitalized.
BREAKING: At least 12 people were shot in a mass shooting in Catawba County early Sunday morning.
The shooting happened around 12:45 a.m. on June 1 at a home on Walnut Acres Drive, which is a neighborhood street not far off Highway 127.
Of those 12, one person died and another… pic.twitter.com/m0tbJ3KPZs
— WBTV News (@WBTV_News) June 1, 2025
The house party appears to have been for over 100 people from a high school.
Law enforcement is desperately searching for more information, but Catawba County Sheriff’s Major Aaron Turk acknowledges how difficult that all is currently.
“This is a complicated scene,” he said, per the Observer.
Brown, however, stressed that complications wouldn’t deter the investigation.
“We are going to work together tirelessly and diligently to identify the individuals responsible for this act,” Brown said, Queen City News reported.
Police actually responded to the same house party twice over the weekend.
Authorities first visited the scene when they received a noise complaint late Saturday. It was a few hours later that reports of gunshots first cropped up.
Both police interventions prompted locals to lament the lack of police resources.
“We need some more officers out here,” someone said shortly after the first dispatch, per the Observer.
Given the volume of shots fired, authorities believe that there is more than one suspect on the loose.
No arrests have been made as of Monday morning.
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