Updated Oct 14, 2022 - News

15-year-old charged in Raleigh shooting to be tried as adult, DA says

Data: Raleigh Police Department; Map: Thomas Oide/Axios

An off-duty police officer on his way to work, a woman just shy of her 35th birthday, and a 16-year-old boy were among the five people killed in Friday's mass shooting along the Neuse River Greenway Thursday night.

  • Police say a 15-year-old white male, who is in custody, opened fire in a shooting spree that started in the Hedingham neighborhood and continued onto the popular greenway, leaving a crime scene nearly two miles long.
  • City officials have not released the name of the suspected shooter.

The latest: Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman told Axios Friday petitions have been filed against the suspect, but her office is seeking to have the case transferred to superior court, where the teen would be tried as an adult.

  • That all depends on the suspect's condition, however, which her office is closely monitoring.

The victims: At a press conference Friday morning, police chief Estella Patterson the deceased victims were identified as: 52-year-old Nicole Conners, 34-year-old Mary Marshall, 49-year-old Susan Karnatz, 29-year-old Raleigh Police Department officer Gabriel Torres, and 16-year-old James Roger Thompson.

  • One woman is still in the hospital in critical condition.
  • 33-year-old senior officer Casey Joseph Clark was also hospitalized with an injury, but was released later last night.

Police say the suspect, a 15-year-old male, began shooting people in the Hedingham neighborhood near before fleeing onto the greenway and shooting more people there.

  • At 9:37pm Thursday police said the suspect was in custody. Patterson said this morning the suspect was hospitalized and in critical condition, but did not indicate how he was injured.

What's still unclear: Police did not indicate any possible motive, or whether the suspect is related to any of the victims.

Details: Just after 5pm Thursday, police reported an active shooter situation near the greenway. For hours, police closed sections of Hedingham and warned residents to stay inside.

A visibly shaken Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin was joined by Gov. Roy Cooper and Raleigh police officials at a 10:45pm press conference Thursday.

  • Officials said at that update that one person remained in the hospital in critical condition.
  • A second officer, one who was responding to the shooting, was also hospitalized but had since been released.

What else we know: The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in Charlotte confirmed it was among the multiple law enforcement agencies responding to the shooting.

What they're saying: "Tonight terror has reached our doorstep," Gov. Roy Cooper said at last night's press conference. "The nightmare of every community has come to Raleigh."

  • "All of us have many questions, but as we seek answers to those questions, let's all pray for these victims, their families, the communities that have been shocked by this, and that we all depend on each other and help each other during this difficult period of time."

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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