A mass shooting in Raleigh left at least five people dead and three more injured, including the 15-year-old alleged gunman.
The suspect in the shooting, described as a white teen, was arrested at approximately 9.37pm on 13 October after a four-hour manhunt in North Carolina’s capital city.
While the suspect has not been named due to his age, the five victims killed were identified as Nicole Connors, 52; Susan Karnatz, 49; Mary Marshall, 35, Gabriel Torres, 29; and James Thompson, 16.
Among the three wounded are Marcel Gardner, 59, Raleigh police officer Casey Clark, 33, and the shooting suspect, who suffered “life-threatening” injuries.
The gunman allegedly opened fire on a neighbourhood street at around 5pm, killing two people, before continuing shooting along a nearby trail.
No motive for the attack has been revealed, and the district attorney announced intention to charge the suspect as an adult.
Here is everything we know about the shooting so far:
When did the shooting start?
Raleigh Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin confirmed the deaths at a news conference hours after the violent incident began on Thursday at around 5pm.
The shooting began in the streets of the Hedingham subdivision, with residents calling 911 to report gunfire and an armed individual wearing camouflage on Osprey Cove Drive.
“I’ve got one down. One male down. Hispanic. This is bad. He’s an off-duty officer,” one caller told dispatchers, likely referring to victim Gabriel Torres.
The other victim killed on the street was Nicole Connors, who was shot alongside her dog on her front porch.
As police began blocking off the area, two more victims were found injured on Sahalee Way. Among them was James Thompson, who later died.
The search for the gunman soon spread to the Neuse River Greenway, where two more women were found dead. They were Susan Karnatz, who had been out for a run, and Mary Marshall, who was walking her dog.
When did he get arrested?
After evading arrest for several hours, officers confirmed that they had successfully apprehended the suspect believed to be responsible for the mass shooting at 9.37pm.
In addition to the Raleigh police force, multiple other agencies were tapped to assist in the manhunt for the suspect.
Witnesses who saw the violent episode unfold confirmed to WRAL that they’d seen the young man roaming through a backyard in the neighbourhood dressed in camouflage.
“I saw him basically pass my house in the backyard. He had a long-barrel shotgun. He was dressed in camo. He had a full backpack on that was also camouflage,” a witness in Raleigh described to the local news outlet.
Police provided scant details on Thursday about how the arrest took place, issuing updates only through their Twitter account where they first warned residents in the affected areas – McConnell Oliver Drive, Tarheel Club Drive, and Old Milburnie Road – to remain indoors.
And then later, about an hour after stating that the situation remained an “active investigation” that the “suspect is now in custody”.
ABC 11 reported that authorities had reportedly cornered the suspect in a barn off Buffaloe Road, located about a 12-minute drive away from the scene of the shooting.
Who is the suspected shooter?
Details have yet to fully emerge about who the suspect in the Raleigh mass shooting is, apart from the fact that he is a 15-year-old white male, according to police.
Witnesses who saw the suspected shooter before the massacre was carried out described to WRAL how the boy looked to be no more than 16 years old.
“He had to be between 13 and 16 max – he was a child,” said a woman who was in the Raleigh neighbourhood just moments before the shooting began and believes she saw the suspected shooter.
Other witnesses said that they believed the young man had been carrying a firearm that resembled a long-range barrell shotgun.
“I heard two gun shots,” one man told the local news outlet. “They were really loud so I knew something was close by. Then I heard three other gunshots. I saw him basically past by house in the backyard. He had a long-barrel shotgun, he was dressed in camouflage, and he had a full backpack on that was also camouflaged.”
Authorities confirmed that the suspect was in custody but had been hospitalised to treat life-threatening wounds, which they would not disclose if they were self-inflicted.
The suspect had reportedly been treated at Raleigh’s WakeMed, WRAL reported.
Do they have a record or known motive?
There is no reported motive in the mass shooting nor any details about any previous criminal records the suspect might’ve had.
Where are they now?
The suspect was taken into custody by Raleigh police on Thursday at approximately 9.37pm. According to a memo from the Department of Homeland Security, ABC 11 reported, he was taken into custody with life-threatening injuries.
