Hickory neighbors describe chaos after deadly shooting as victims fled party
People fleeing a home near Hickory where one person was killed and 11 others were injured during a shooting at a party escaped by running through the backyard of a home in an adjacent neighborhood, one of the neighbors said Monday.
Michael Bosze, whose home on Winding Oak Drive isn’t far from the site of Sunday’s 12:45 a.m. shooting on Walnut Acres Drive, said what he thought was his pool collapsing was actually a barrage of gunfire.
Fleeing people then flooded his street, he said in an interview Monday. They included teenagers.
“A lot of people shoot around here ... in their backyards,” Bosze said. “So you kind of figure somebody’s shooting, and I thought to myself, ‘Well who the hell is shooting this late in their backyard?’ So I just let it go.”
Authorities first responded to the home on Walnut Acres Drive at 11 p.m. Saturday about a noise complaint. But less than two hours later, police were responding to the shooting.
The Catawba County Sheriff’s Office said more than 80 shots were fired at the home. The person killed was 58-year-old Shawn Patrick Hood of Lenoir.
Police have said some, but not all, of the 11 injured were shot. They have not said exactly how many were shot.
The names of those injured haven’t been released, but the youngest person injured was 16. Four people remain hospitalized, the sheriff’s office said Monday evening.
Police remained on scene all day Monday in the Mountain View community. The rural road, which has a mix of large, multistory and ranch-style houses along it, remained closed to the public. No arrests had been announced as of Monday evening.
Reward for Catawba County shooter
Authorities on Monday announced a $15,000 reward for information that helps them arrest and prosecute the shooter or shooters. Police asked residents on Highway 127, Huffman Farm Road, and Pittstown Road to share any footage with law enforcement.
Bosze said the lack of information about the shooter and no arrest left him and others feeling unsafe.
“Yesterday, I think everybody was close-doored, myself included, and blinds drawn, and just staying in,” he said. “It’s still unresolved, so we don’t know what’s going on.”
Brian Tomaszewski, another resident in the area, said one of the teenagers who fled through a backyard to his street came to his home for help.
“He had blood on him, and he tore up his knee,” Tomaszewski said Monday. “He had one shoe missing.”
Fireworks or gunfire?
Tomaszewski was in bed with his wife watching television when the shooting happened. He didn’t hear anything, but his 14-year-old son, Adam, said he heard what he thought were fireworks while playing video games. His son didn’t think that was odd because fireworks are common.
But shortly after, someone was pounding at the family’s door and ringing the doorbell.
Tomaszewski said he grabbed his gun because he wanted to make sure his family was safe.
“At that point you don’t know who it is,” Tomaszewski said. “You see someone at 1:30 in the morning pounding on your door. My instinct is to protect my family.”
But he answered the door to the find the injured teenager. He was guarded at first, he said, but he realized the teen was fleeing from a shooting and said he saw fear in his eyes. To be safe, he asked the teen to wait outside while they waited for EMS.
“He high-tailed probably a good 200 yards,” Tomaszewski said. “I felt bad for the kid.”
He only got the 19-year-old’s first name.
Tomaszewski waited with him outside and gave the teen a phone charger so he could turn on his phone and call his parents.
On Monday, Tomaszewski learned one of his neighbors found a white Nike shoe in between the home where the shooting occurred and the yard people escaped through.
This story was originally published June 3, 2025 at 5:00 AM.