IREDELL COUNTY, N.C. — A former detention officer is accused of shooting and killing a man Monday morning in a field, according to the Iredell County sheriff.
Sheriff Darren Campbell said that around 7 a.m. deputies received several 911 calls about a shooting on Toby’s Footlog Drive, off Howards Bridge Road, which is near Interstate 77.
One of the calls was made by a person claiming they pulled the trigger, Campbell said.
[ ALSO READ: Driver, 21, charged with DWI after hitting, killing 2 people using crosswalk in Boone ]
When deputies got to the scene, they found 46-year-old Baron Thomas Cass dead in a field.
Authorities found three witnesses who told them the man who killed Cass was still in the area. Deputies went to a home nearby and met with the man who said he fired the gun.
Campbell said the man who shot Cass is a former non-sworn detention officer at the sheriff’s office who last worked at the agency in 2006. His name was not released and the sheriff did not say if he would face charges.
Because the suspect used to work at the sheriff’s office, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation was requested to assist in a joint investigation.
Witnesses told deputies there was a “physical altercation” between Cass and the other man in the field before the shooting.
An autopsy is planned for this week and Campbell said all evidence and findings will be turned over to the district attorney’s office.
No other information has been released.
This is an ongoing investigation. Check back with wsoctv.com for updates.
This browser does not support the video element.