HICKORY, N.C. (AP) — At least 80 shots were fired in a western North Carolina neighborhood early Sunday, killing one person and injuring 11 others in a residential area where a house party was being held, authorities said.
No arrests have been made, but authorities believe there was more than one shooter when the gunfire erupted about 12:45 a.m. Sunday, the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office said.
One victim was in critical condition and 10 others were hospitalized in serious condition, officials said. The sheriff’s department has not released the victims’ names or ages but said those at the party included teens and people in their 20s and older.
The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation and the Hickory Police Department are investigating the shooting. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is also assisting in the case.
Investigators said there were as many as 100 people attending a house party at a home on the street when one or more people discharged firearms, WSOC-TV reported.
Eyewitnesses told local reporters that many people attending the party were from nearby high schools and people began scattering, ducking for cover and running toward safety when the gunfire began.
Major Aaron Turk with the sheriff’s office said at a news conference that the shooting occurred in a normally quiet residential area.
About two hours before the shooting, there was a noise complaint about the party from another home, Turk said.
He added that deputies responded, but that investigators don’t believe the noise complaint was the motivation for the shooting.
It’s not clear exactly where the shooting took place. Turk said the crime scene spanned several properties, covering about two acres (.8 hectares), and included outdoor and indoor areas.
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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.
