Man Fatally Shot After Allegedly Crashing Car and Assaulting Occupants of Nearby Home

CATAWBA COUNTY, N.C. — A man was shot to death outside of a home late Saturday night and witnesses claim that it was self-defense following an assault by the man, who is thought to have ended up at the house following a car crash.

The Catawba County Sheriff’s Department was dispatched to a house on 20^th Avenue SW in Brookford just after 11:30 p.m. Saturday night. Upon arrival, they found a male in the yard dead from a gunshot wound.

The occupants of the house told deputies that they heard noises outside around 11:30 p.m. When they went outside to investigate, they found a male in their yard. They said that the man attacked a male occupant of the house and was then shot by a woman who was also an occupant of the house.

The deceased has been identified as 22-year-old Justin James Locklear. Investigators are working to determine if the shooting was a justified act of self-defense, and no arrests have been made.

Officers also found a wrecked car at the intersection of NC Highway 127 South and South Center Street. The crash scene is a short distance from the home where the shooting occurred, and it is believed that Locklear was driving the car at the time of the crash.