The 15-year-old suspect accused of gunning down seven people — killing five of them — in North Carolina’s capital city Thursday evening was taken into custody with life threatening injuries, according to authorities.
It’s not yet clear if the suspect’s wounds were self-inflicted. He remained hospitalized Friday morning at WakeMed hospital in Raleigh, the city’s Chief of Police Estella Patterson said.
The violence started on Thursday around 5 p.m. in the neighborhood of Hedingham, and then continued along the Neuse River Greenway, where most of the victims were shot. In total, the crime scene spanned about two miles.
One of the victims killed was an off-duty Raleigh police officer, who was identified Friday as 29-year-old Gabriel Torres. He was on his way to work at the time.
Nicole Conners, 53; Susan Karnatz, 49; Mary Marshall, 35; and James Thompson,16, were also among those killed.
A responding police officer was wounded, but has since been released from the hospital, while a 59-year-old woman remained hospitalized in critical condition Friday morning. A police K9 was also injured.
A motive in the shooting was not clear and authorities did not say how the victims were related to the suspect.
The carnage sparked a massive search effort for the teen gunman, with authorities swarming the neighborhood and combing through surrounding areas.
He managed to elude officers for hours before finally being captured around 9:30 p.m. inside a residence not far from the scene. He was wearing camouflage at the time.
The suspect’s name was not released because he is a minor.
Investigators were spotted on Friday searching a home about a half mile from where the mass shooting occurred.
