3 dead in apparent murder-suicide, Statesville police say

STATESVILLE, N.C. — A 10-month-old baby is left without a mother and father after three people died Friday morning in an apparent murder-suicide, Statesville police said.

Officers were called for a shooting around 7:30 a.m. on Bunker Hill Lane, where they found the bodies of three people.

Statesville police said they aren’t looking for any suspects in the case and the area has been secured. Video from Chopper 9 Skyzoom showed a scene spread out across multiple homes.

Neighbor Larry McCorkle told Channel 9′s Dave Faherty he woke up Friday morning to one of the victims banging on his door. He said the shooter followed her over and shot her outside the door.

McCorkle worked in law enforcement for years in Catawba and Burke counties but never thought he’d see this kind of crime on his doorstep.

“By the time I got to the door, my wife was opening the door and I could hear her screaming, ‘please don’t do that, please don’t do that. And then I could hear two shots fired and see the suspect going back across the yard,” he told Faherty.

McCorkle said the woman who knocked on his door died. He said she was living with one of his neighbors, a man who McCorkle said went back to his home and took his own life. The neighbor’s wife was also found dead inside that home.

Police said their 10-month-old baby was inside the home during the shooting but wasn’t hurt.

The identities of the three people who died have not yet been released.

The Statesville Police Department continues to investigate the case and said they can’t provide anymore information at this time. They offered their condolences to the families involved in the case.

“We ask for the community’s patience and cooperation as we continue our investigation. Our thoughts are with the families affected by this tragedy,” police said in a statement.

Sue Noble lives right across the street and had visited the family before.

“I went over to introduce myself and he was very friendly, very nice,” she said. “All over his little girl, loved her to death. Waved when I waved. Makes absolutely no sense.”

McCorkle is thankful the baby is OK and that his wife wasn’t hurt while opening the door, but he doesn’t understand why this happened.

“He seemed to be a real nice, down-to-earth guy. I mean level-headed, worked every day,” he said. “And for me, this is totally out of character for me knowing him.”

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

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