STATESVILLE, N.C. — A man wanted in connection with the fatal shooting of 31-year-old Shawn Darnell Whren Jr. has been arrested, according to the Statesville Police Department.
Police said 37-year-old Carl Anthony Cathey turned himself in Friday night. He has been charged with first-degree murder.
Whren, of Statesville, was the third person killed on the same street in less than two months.
The Statesville Police Department said it responded to Fifth Street near Winston Avenue after 4 a.m. Friday for reports of gunshots. Whren was found shot inside a home, police said.
Whren was taken to Iredell Memorial Hospital, where he died from his wounds. Statesville police said they are conducting a homicide investigation following the shooting.
Whren was the third man killed on Fifth Street since May began.
In mid-June, 19-year-old Kareen Jabbar Stevenson Jr. was shot near New Bern Avenue. He died from his wounds at an area hospital, according to police.
A month earlier, 40-year-old Breon Tucker was shot and killed outside a car in the same block that Whren was killed on Monday. A 34-year-old man was charged with murder and armed robbery in Tucker’s death.
Debra Stevenson heard all the gunshots that preceded Whren’s death.
“It was about 10 or 12 or more, I mean it just went nonstop,” she said.
Stevenson has lived in the Statesville neighborhood for nine years and says it’s only in the last few months that things have become violent.
Pastor Ralph Wood leads the Whole Truth Ministry nearby. He says his church has been broken into twice. He believes police patrols are the solution.
“It’s good to have police protection,” Wood said.
When a man was shot and killed in mid-June, he was left to die in the front yard of the church.
“That was kind of shocking to have him laying out there,” Wood said.
The violence has left a lot of people on edge. An older man who didn’t want to be identified showed Channel 9 two bullet holes he had just patched from a different deadly shooting in February.
When gunfire rings, “I drop to this hard floor, man. My knees hurt,” he said.
Gunshots have become such a common occurrence that the man said he’s looking to move.
“I want to get the hell out of here, because you know what? I live in fear here, every day,” he said.
Stevenson won’t go outside at night. She has a sign on her door saying she won’t open it after 11 p.m.
If the violence continues, she says she’ll be gone too.
“If it don’t, I’m gonna find somewhere else for me to move to,” she said.
Cathey made headlines in 2015 after reportedly driving while under the influence and leading a police chase through Statesville. The chase ended when Cathey allegedly ran through two red lights before crashing into a utility pole. He had been convicted of DWI a year before that chase.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Statesville Police Department at 704-878-3406 or 704-878-3516.
(WATCH BELOW: Police say deadly shooting in Statesville was possibly an accident)
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