A 15-year-old fatally shot five people and wounded others as he made his way through a quiet Raleigh, N.C., suburb and a popular walking trail, leaving behind a two-mile stretch of carnage and questions about his motive, police say.
Raleigh police said the teenager was taken into custody four hours after the shooting began on Thursday afternoon, as investigators combed the sprawling crime scene. He was hospitalized and remains in critical condition, Raleigh Police Chief Stella Patterson said Friday morning, although authorities did not say how he was injured.
The dead include an off-duty police officer, 29-year-old Gabriel Torres, who was on his way to work; 49-year-old Susan Karnatz, an avid runner out for a jog; James Roger Thompson, 16; Mary Marshall, 35; and Nicole Connors, 52. Officials have not said whether there was any connection between the alleged shooter and the victims.
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“There are several families in our community waking up this morning without their loved ones,” Raleigh Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin (D) said. “We grieve with them today.”
Four people were taken to WakeMed hospital, including Marcille Gardner, 59, who is in critical condition. A Raleigh police K-9 officer who suffered injuries that were not life-threatening was released late Thursday, a spokeswoman told The Washington Post.
Emotional 911 calls described the graphic scene that unfolded in the calm suburb, the latest American community wracked by a horrifying yet familiar torment of gun violence. There have been 532 mass-shooting incidents so far this year, according to Gun Violence Archive, which defines an incident as four or more shot or killed, not including the shooter. Seventeen of those were in North Carolina.
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The shooter was wearing “camo” and “looks like he’s like 15,” according to a 911 call provided to the The Washington Post by a city spokesperson.
The unnamed person, who called from Osprey Cove Drive near the Neuse River Greenway, said that the shooter had a “shotgun” and “killed my buddy,” who he said was an officer.
“Oh my god, oh my god,” the caller says later on. “It looks like he’s bleeding from his chest.”
Another unnamed caller, voice trembling, said they heard gunshots and saw a neighbor “on the ground” when they looked outside their window.
About one minute later, the caller is heard saying “Oh my gosh, it’s two people.” One person was lying by a bush, another on a porch, the caller said.
Police have not identified the weapon or how it was obtained, but an eyewitness told local news channel WRAL the suspect was carrying a “long-barrel shotgun” and dressed in camouflage and carrying a camouflage backpack. North Carolina has no minimum age for possessing rifles or shotguns, according to data from the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, a group that supports stricter laws governing gun ownership.
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Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman told the News & Observer on Friday that she had started moving the case from juvenile court to superior court by filing a petition for a hearing.
“In this situation, there’s no question [because of] the mass loss of life, in my opinion, this case be transferred and tried in superior court,” said Freeman, whose office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
President Biden said his administration was working closely with Gov. Roy Cooper (D) to assist local authorities in the investigation, and once again called for an assault weapons ban, saying, “Enough.”
“This year, and even in just the five months since Buffalo and Uvalde, there are too many mass shootings across America, including ones that don’t even make the national news,” he said.
North Carolina is rated C-minus by the Giffords Law Center due in part to lacking requirements for universal background checks for long gun purchases and assault weapons restrictions. This shooting should spur change, according to one victim’s family.
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Mary Marshall was supposed to get married at the end of the month, according to her sister Meaghan McCrickard.
“We want to take this unimaginable opportunity to beg our local, national and country leaders to finally step up and do something about gun control,” McCrickard said in a statement. “How many times do we have to hear our leaders say ‘we’re sorry’ and ‘something must be done.’ We demand action.”
Shots were first fired late Thursday afternoon in the Hedingham neighborhood, before the shooter then moved toward the nearby Neuse River Greenway, a walking and biking trail that winds for nearly 30 miles along the eastern edge of the city, police said. At 5:55 p.m., Raleigh police first advised residents “to stay in their homes.”
Taylor Burke, a resident, told CBS17 that soon after her children got home from school, she heard helicopters and police descend on her neighborhood. People were being told they couldn’t enter or leave the area, she said.
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The police activity was an unusual sight for residents unaccustomed to violence in that area.
Matthew Lanier, a 40-year-old lifelong resident of Raleigh who has lived in the neighborhood for seven years, said that the southern Hedingham area was not known for violence. Lanier and his wife were not home during the shooting.
By 8 p.m., the gunman appeared to be cornered, with Baldwin saying in a Thursday night news conference that the shooter was “contained” inside a residence.
The next night, the greenway that neighbors said was normally bustling with families and children was nearly deserted.
By then, the community began to learn more about the people killed in the outburst.
“From his time in the military to his service as a law enforcement professional, Officer Torres lived his entire adult life as a hero and dedicated guardian — both of his country and his community,” Carl Bailey, president of the Teamsters Law Enforcement League, said in a statement. Torres was father to a 2-year-old girl, he said.
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James Thompson was a junior a Knightdale High School, the school’s principal, Keith Richardson, said in a statement to families Friday.
“It is an unexpected loss and we are saddened by it,” Richardson said. “Our condolences, thoughts, and prayers go out to James’ family, the other victims, their families and all who have been impacted by yesterday’s events.”
Connors’ husband Tracey Howard told the News & Observer that they met on Facebook. She was a “fun-loving” person who “took care of her own family.” Howard said he returned home Thursday to find his wife’s body on their porch, their dog dead at her feet.
Susan Karnatz’s family had worried when she didn’t answer their texts and calls, said Sharon Butler Kaivani, her sister. The mother of three sons was an avid distance runner who completed the Boston Marathon several times with her husband, Tommy, and she frequently ran in the area police had cordoned off Thursday.
On Friday, her sister recalled Karnatz’s kindness, love of nature and laugh.
“I used to joke with her, a vacation wouldn’t be complete until I make Susie cry with laughter,” Kaivani said. “She had this chunky, cute little laughter. And I will miss that so much.”
correction
An earlier version of this story, using information from Raleigh police, misspelled a victim's last name. She was Nicole Connors, not Conners.
Daniel Johnson in Raleigh and Praveena Somasundaram in Washington contributed to this report.
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