McKinney charged with murder

The following press release has been issued by Town of Murphy Police Department.  All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

On September 7th, 2018 at around 8:57 pm, the Cherokee County 911 Center received several 911 calls in reference to shots being fired at The County Store, a local convenience store in Murphy, North Carolina.

Callers advised that a male subject had been shot in the parking lot of the store, and the armed suspect fled on foot at the time toward an adjacent school area where a high school football game was taking place. Law enforcement immediately notified school personnel and school law enforcement of the situation. Law enforcement secured the scene of the shooting while Cherokee County Emergency personnel attempted to provide life saving measures on the victim. The victim was transported to Erlanger Murphy Medical Center where he was pronounced deceased.

The victim was identified as Johnny Mark Lowery of Marble, North Carolina.

The suspect was identified as Shane Donovan McKinney of Marble, North Carolina. The suspect fled to his residence in the Marble area where he was later apprehended without incident after a short standoff with Law Enforcement.

Shane Donovan McKinney was charged with murder and discharging a firearm in the city limits. McKinney was booked into the Cherokee County Detention Center and currently being held with no bond.  At this time this will be the only press release, this case is still currently under investigation.

On behalf of The Murphy Police Department I would like to thank our law enforcement community and all the different agencies for the assistance in this case. The cooperation between our Law Enforcement agencies helped to bring this case to a fast conclusion.

Thank you to
Cherokee County 911 Center
Cherokee County Sheriff's Office
Cherokee County Emergency Services
Cherokee Tribal Police
North Carolina Highway Patrol
North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation
Cherokee County Schools
Cherokee County School Police
30th, District Attorney's Office

Dustin D. Smith
Assistant Chief of Police
Murphy Police Department ​

WKRK extends our deepest sympathy to the family and friends of Mr. Lowery.