Larry Vernon Barger
Agency patch
Detective Lieutenant

Larry Vernon Barger

Mooresville Police Department — Mooresville, NC
Felonious
End of Watch July 13, 1974
Age 36
Tour of Duty 12 yrs
The Vigil Panel 114 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Lieutenant Larry Barger was shot and killed while responding to a domestic disturbance while off duty. He was friends with a family whose wife called him and asked him to speak to her husband. Lieutenant Barger went to the house and was sitting in a chair when the husband shot him in the back with a .30-.30 rifle. He died from his wounds three months later after four major surgeries. His killer pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to thirty years in prison on November 20th, 1974. He was paroled on June 17th, 1986.

Survivors

Lieutenant Barger was survived by his wife and two children.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-NC-62C103F6
Stewardship
Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
Added to badge.nw
August 2, 2026
Last updated
August 2, 2026

Honored here by 1 tribute.

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Tributes

I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Detective Lieutenant Barger gave the Mooresville Police Department 12 years.
Thank you for your service to the Mooresville community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Detective Lieutenant Barger.

— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993

Agency

Type Police Department
Location Mooresville, Iredell County, NC
Platform Identity mpd.iredell.nc.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch July 13, 1974
Tour of Duty 12 yrs
Age 36
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Felonious
Weapon Rifle

Detective Lieutenant Larry Vernon Barger is one of 1 officers killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,772 officers honored here.

In NC, 385 of 664 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 58% of this state's fallen. That is 58 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

At Mooresville Police Department, 2 of 3 officers on record were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 66.7% of this agency's fallen.

Mooresville Police Department
2
of 3 officers
66.7% Felonious
NC — Statewide
385
of 664 officers
58% Felonious
Nationwide
1
of 97,772 officers
0% Felonious

National Cause Distribution

How Felonious compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Larry Vernon Barger's cause is highlighted.

Felonious
1 (0%)
Accident
1 (0%)
Illness
1 (0%)
Cardiac
1 (0%)
Undetermined
1 (0%)
Suicide
1 (0%)

How Larry Vernon Barger Compares

Age at Death
36
This officer
Avg for Felonious: 39.0 years
Years of Service
12
This officer
Avg for Felonious: 8.4 years

When Felonious Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Felonious deaths across the full memorial record. Larry Vernon Barger is highlighted in Jul.

Jan
1,392
Feb
1,295
Mar
1,373
Apr
1,516
May
1,504
Jun
1,442
Jul
1,587
Aug
1,517
Sep
1,491
Oct
1,371
Nov
1,447
Dec
1,624

Weapons Used Against Officers

Most common weapons in felonious officer deaths. Larry Vernon Barger was killed by rifle.

Handgun
3,684
Gun
3,592
Gun; Unknown type
1,492
Shotgun
1,109
Rifle
935
Officer's handgun
909

Others Who Wore This Badge

2 officers from Mooresville Police Department are honored on badge.nw.