Man arrested, charged with deadly shooting outside Vale home

VALE, N.C. — Sheriff deputies in Catawba County are investigating a deadly shooting outside a home in the Vale community.

Deputies said they got the call around 5 p.m. along Hope Road.

When they arrived, the suspect was still on the scene and taken quickly into custody.

Neighbors said they heard a single gunshot and when they came outside, someone was dead in the yard.

Eyewitnesses said the victim was working on the home, which was being remodeled.

Neighbors said the suspect began yelling at people and then called 911 about the deadly shooting.

Channel 9′s Dave Faherty spoke with a woman, who was outside and heard him shouting at deputies as they arrived on the scene here.

“He told the police, ‘I killed him. I shot him. I killed him. I shot him,’” said Jeannie Crossno, a neighbor. “And they arrested him immediately.”

The road was blocked off for nearly four hours during the investigation.

Investigators said the suspect was taken to the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office.

Friday morning, the suspect was identified as Trevor Kiernan O’Mara.

The victim in the shooting was identified as Larry Ray Whisnant, according to the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office.

The sheriff’s office said, “An apparent altercation between Whisnant and O’Mara led to Whisnant’s death.”

They said he will appear before a judge Friday after being charged with murder.

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