Law enforcement ‘outraged’ over bond granted to suspect in mass shooting at pool party

CATAWBA COUNTY, N.C. (WBTV/Gray News) - Law enforcement officials in North Carolina say they are outraged after District Judge Mark Killian granted bond to a man accused in connection with a deadly Catawba County pool party shooting over the weekend.

Garon Killian, 20, appeared in Catawba County court on Wednesday and was charged with one count of attempted first-degree murder.

According to the Catawba County sheriff and FBI, Judge Mark Killian and Garon Killian are not related.

Despite calls from prosecutors to deny bond, Judge Killian set Garon Killian’s secured bond at $200,000, prompting gasps in the courtroom and public criticism from local law enforcement leaders.

“I am outraged. The first suspect that we arrested in connection to this mass shooting was given a $200,000 bond,” said Catawba County Sheriff Don Brown during a press conference held shortly after the hearing.

Court records show Garon Killian was already out on a $50,000 bond for seven counts of assault with a deadly weapon tied to an April shooting.

He posted bond on April 14.

Now, just 48 days later, he’s accused in a separate shooting that left one person dead and a nearly a dozen others injured at a large pool party on Walnut Acres Drive.

“He bonded out of jail on April 14,” Brown said. “Forty-eight days later, all of our lives changed. This is frustrating. It’s infuriating.”

Hickory Police Chief Reed Baer echoed that frustration.

“It is beyond frustrating that someone with pending charges for multiple s of attempted murder is out in the community in the first place,” Baer said. “It is unimaginable that the same person can then be charged with additional charges from a separate incident, and could be out in our community tonight.”

In the same press conference, officials also named Toland Huff Jr. as another suspect in the mass shooting case and announced several new alcohol-related charges.

Additional updates are expected as the investigation continues.

Shooting allegedly started by Killian, Huff

The two people charged with attempted murder are believed to have initiated the shooting at the Catawba County house party, where at least 80 shots were fired in total.

Authorities said this week that the shooting began from an elevated position on a hill in a neighboring yard. Those who fired shots on the hill allegedly fired at the home where the party was taking place.

Investigators believe Garon Killian and Huff were on that hillside and fired at the party.

Authorities said it’s still unclear on how many people were on that hillside, but they did say they know it was more than one person.

Officials: Killian, Huff also charged in April shooting

The two people charged so far with attempted murder in the wake of the mass shooting were also allegedly charged with similar crimes earlier this year.

It appeared that Garon Killian and Huff knew each other, though officials did not explicitly say so on Wednesday.

“Killian and Huff are at least two of the defendants who have been charged in the city of Hickory shooting there at the closed Party City,” Major Aaron Turk, with the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office, said on Wednesday.

According to officials, Garon Killian had several pending charges against him, including attempted murder , in connection with the April shooting in Hickory. Garon Killian was reportedly out on bond between then and the Catawba County shooting last weekend.

It wasn’t immediately clear what charges Huff had faced or was facing in connection with the April shooting in Hickory.

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