North Carolina judge revokes bond for house party shooting suspect

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North Carolina judge revokes bond for house party shooting suspect

2025-06-07 04:11 Last Updated At：04:20

NEWTON, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina judge ordered Thursday that a defendant accused in last weekend's shootings at a house party that left one person dead and 11 others injured stay in jail while awaiting trial on other matters.

The decision came the day after another judge had set a $200,000 bond for Garon Nathaniel Killian, 20, of Lenoir, who is charged with one count of attempted first-degree murder related to the shootings. Prosecutors on Wednesday had asked that no bond be allowed.

Killian had not posted the amount to be released. On Thursday, when Killian had a court date for charges involving a different altercation in April, District Court Judge Scott Conrad revoked a combined $100,000 bond that had been set previously for Killian for the April matters, according to the Catawba County Clerk of Court’s office and court documents.

Investigators of the shootings that happened early Sunday believe at least 80 shots were fired in a crime scene that spanned several properties along a road in the usually quiet residential neighborhood. FBI agents spent this week at the scene examining bullet trajectories.

The Catawba County Sheriff's Office has said that beyond Killian five other people have been arrested and charged with crimes in connection with the party or shootings, and that authorities were seeking on Thursday two other men also wanted on attempted first-degree murder.

Giving Killian on Wednesday the chance to post bond had angered local law enforcement leaders. Hickory city police announced previously that Killian and another young man had been charged with many counts — including attempted first-degree murder and assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill — for an April 6 altercation in a parking lot that led to shots being fired into a crowd. No one was injured.

Catawba Sheriff Don Brown said on Wednesday at a media briefing that while Killian was freed by posting bond several days later he “should have never went back on the street," and called the situation “frustrating” and “infuriating.”

Shawn Patrick Hood, 58, of Lenoir, was killed in last weekend's gunfire. He was the oldest of the victims, who ranged in age from as young as 16, the sheriff’s office said.

The sheriff's office said Thursday that Zachary Micheal Bates, 22, of Morganton, and Ke'andre O'neal Mack, 19, of Hickory, were among those arrested and charged with attempted first-degree murder. The Clerk of Court's Office said late Thursday that it didn't immediately have information about Bates, such as an attorney. Mack's arrest was announced after the regular closing of the clerk's office, where an after-hours message couldn't be left.

Two of the other three people arrested so far were charged with three counts of helping someone under age 21 by allowing the possession of alcoholic beverages. The charges are related to the planning and promotion of the house party, the sheriff’s office said.

There were many juvenile or underage attendees at the party, the state Division of Alcohol Law Enforcement said Wednesday. The other person arrested was charged with being an accessory to attempted first-degree murder after the fact, the sheriff's office said.

This story has been corrected to say that District Court Judge Scott Conrad revoked a combined $100,000 bond previously allowed for Garon Nathaniel Killian in different matters that began in April, according to the Catawba County Clerk of Court’s office and court documents.

Buddhist monks and their dog captivate Americans while walking for peace

A group of Buddhist monks and their rescue dog are striding single file down country roads and highways across the South, captivating Americans nationwide and inspiring droves of locals to greet them along their route.

In their flowing saffron and ocher robes, the men are walking for peace. It's a meditative tradition more common in South Asian countries, and it's resonating now in the U.S., seemingly as a welcome respite from the conflict, trauma and politics dividing the nation.

Their journey began Oct. 26, 2025, at a Vietnamese Buddhist temple in Texas, and is scheduled to end in mid-February in Washington, D.C., where they will ask Congress to recognize Buddha’s day of birth and enlightenment as a federal holiday. Beyond promoting peace, their highest priority is connecting with people along the way.

“My hope is, when this walk ends, the people we met will continue practicing mindfulness and find peace,” said the Venerable Bhikkhu Pannakara, the group’s soft-spoken leader who is making the trek barefoot. He teaches about mindfulness, forgiveness and healing at every stop.

Preferring to sleep each night in tents pitched outdoors, the monks have been surprised to see their message transcend ideologies, drawing huge crowds into churchyards, city halls and town squares across six states. Documenting their journey on social media, they — and their dog, Aloka — have racked up millions of followers online. On Saturday, thousands thronged in Columbia, South Carolina, where the monks chanted on the steps of the State House and received a proclamation from the city's mayor, Daniel Rickenmann.

At their stop Thursday in Saluda, South Carolina, Audrie Pearce joined the crowd lining Main Street. She had driven four hours from her village of Little River, and teared up as Pannakara handed her a flower.

“There’s something traumatic and heart-wrenching happening in our country every day,” said Pearce, who describes herself as spiritual, but not religious. “I looked into their eyes and I saw peace. They’re putting their bodies through such physical torture and yet they radiate peace.”

Hailing from Theravada Buddhist monasteries across the globe, the 19 monks began their 2,300 mile (3,700 kilometer) trek at the Huong Dao Vipassana Bhavana Center in Fort Worth.

Their journey has not been without peril. On Nov. 19, as the monks were walking along U.S. Highway 90 near Dayton, Texas, their escort vehicle was hit by a distracted truck driver, injuring two monks. One of them lost his leg, reducing the group to 18.

This is Pannakara's first trek in the U.S., but he's walked across several South Asian countries, including a 112-day journey across India in 2022 where he first encountered Aloka, an Indian Pariah dog whose name means divine light in Sanskrit.

Then a stray, the dog followed him and other monks from Kolkata in eastern India all the way to the Nepal border. At one point, he fell critically ill and Pannakara scooped him up in his arms and cared for him until he recovered. Now, Aloka inspires him to keep going when he feels like giving up.

“I named him light because I want him to find the light of wisdom,” Pannakara said.

The monk's feet are now heavily bandaged because he's stepped on rocks, nails and glass along the way. His practice of mindfulness keeps him joyful despite the pain from these injuries, he said.

Still, traversing the southeast United States has presented unique challenges, and pounding pavement day after day has been brutal.

“In India, we can do shortcuts through paddy fields and farms, but we can’t do that here because there are a lot of private properties,” Pannakara said. “But what’s made it beautiful is how people have welcomed and hosted us in spite of not knowing who we are and what we believe.”

In Opelika, Alabama, the Rev. Patrick Hitchman-Craig hosted the monks on Christmas night at his United Methodist congregation.

He expected to see a small crowd, but about 1,000 people showed up, creating the feel of a block party. The monks seemed like the Magi, he said, appearing on Christ’s birthday.

“Anyone who is working for peace in the world in a way that is public and sacrificial is standing close to the heart of Jesus, whether or not they share our tradition,” said Hitchman-Craig. “I was blown away by the number of people and the diversity of who showed up.”

After their night on the church lawn, the monks arrived the next afternoon at the Collins Farm in Cusseta, Alabama. Judy Collins Allen, whose father and brother run the farm, said about 200 people came to meet the monks — the biggest gathering she’s ever witnessed there.

“There was a calm, warmth and sense of community among people who had not met each other before and that was so special,” she said.

Long Si Dong, a spokesperson for the Fort Worth temple, said the monks, when they arrive in Washington, plan to seek recognition of Vesak, the day which marks the birth and enlightenment of the Buddha, as a national holiday.

“Doing so would acknowledge Vesak as a day of reflection, compassion and unity for all people regardless of faith,” he said.

But Pannakara emphasized that their main goal is to help people achieve peace in their lives. The trek is also a separate endeavor from a $200 million campaign to build towering monuments on the temple’s 14-acre property to house the Buddha’s teachings engraved in stone, according to Dong.

The monks practice and teach Vipassana meditation, an ancient Indian technique taught by the Buddha himself as core for attaining enlightenment. It focuses on the mind-body connection — observing breath and physical sensations to understand reality, impermanence and suffering. Some of the monks, including Pannakara, walk barefoot to feel the ground directly and be present in the moment.

Pannakara has told the gathered crowds that they don't aim to convert people to Buddhism.

Brooke Schedneck, professor of religion at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee, said the tradition of a peace walk in Theravada Buddhism began in the 1990s when the Venerable Maha Ghosananda, a Cambodian monk, led marches across war-torn areas riddled with landmines to foster national healing after civil war and genocide in his country.

“These walks really inspire people and inspire faith,” Schedneck said. “The core intention is to have others watch and be inspired, not so much through words, but through how they are willing to make this sacrifice by walking and being visible.”

On Thursday, Becki Gable drove nearly 400 miles (about 640 kilometers) from Cullman, Alabama, to catch up with them in Saluda. Raised Methodist, Gable said she wanted some release from the pain of losing her daughter and parents.

“I just felt in my heart that this would help me have peace,” she said. “Maybe I could move a little bit forward in my life.”

Gable says she has already taken one of Pannakara’s teachings to heart. She’s promised herself that each morning, as soon as she awakes, she’d take a piece of paper and write five words on it, just as the monk prescribed.

“Today is my peaceful day.”

Freelance photojournalist Allison Joyce contributed to this report.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.