Sheriff William Locke McKenzie

William Locke McKenzie

Sheriff William McKenzie was shot and killed after receiving reports from a woman that her husband was going to shoot up the town. When Sheriff McKenzie arrived at the residence the man opened fire with a shotgun, striking him at point-blank range.

The suspect had recently been released from a mental hospital where he was being treated for shell shock and other effects of wounds he suffered in World War I. He was recommitted but declared sane five years later. On May 7, 1936, he was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 15 to 20 years in prison.

Sheriff McKenzie was survived by his wife and four children and is buried at Chesnut Hill Cemetery in Salisbury, North Carolina.