NC Man Shot and Killed, Younger Brother Charged

Polk County, N.C. -- Polk County Sheriff's Office Sunday June 20, 2021 MEDIA RELEASE

For Immediate Release

Re: Homicide on Rabbit Run Lane
On Sunday June 20, 2021, at approximately 4:30 PM the Polk County E-911 Communications Center received a report of a possible shooting on Rabbit Run Lane in the Mill Spring community of Polk County. Upon arrival at the residence, Deputies encountered a male subject who had been shot. EMS and First Responders attempted life saving measures but the subject who had been shot succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced deceased by medical authorities at St. Luke’s Hospital in Columbus, NC. The deceased has been identified as Justus Ian Burnett, 30, of 30 Rabbit Run Ln. Mill Spring, NC. The family of the deceased has been notified.
The suspect in this homicide was taken into custody near the scene of the shooting by Polk County Sheriff’s Deputies without incident, and there is no threat or danger to the public reported at this time. The suspect in this shooting is the brother of the deceased, Montgomery Graham Burnett, 24, also of 30 Rabbit Run Ln. Mill Spring, NC. After consultation with the District Attorneys Office and the conclusion of interviews and crime scene processing, Montgomery Graham Burnett has been charged with First Degree Murder. At this time no further information regarding the circumstances of the shooting can be released.

 Montgomery Graham Burnett, 24