Raleigh mass shooting: 15-year-old gunman kills multiple people

Raleigh, North Carolina - A teenager gunned down seven people, killing five of them, on Thursday evening in the neighborhood of Hedingham.

A 15-year-old gunman opened fire in the Hedingham neighborhood of Raleigh, North Carolina, killing five people and wounding two others.
A 15-year-old gunman opened fire in the Hedingham neighborhood of Raleigh, North Carolina, killing five people and wounding two others.  © Melissa Sue Gerrits / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

The carnage sparked a massive search effort for the teen gunman, with authorities swarming the neighborhood and combing through surrounding areas.

The 15-year-old suspect, whose name has not been released because he is a minor, managed to elude officers for hours before finally being captured around 9:30 PM inside a residence not far from the scene. He was wearing camouflage at the time.

He was taken into custody with life-threatening injuries, according to authorities. It’s not yet clear if his wounds were self-inflicted.

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The suspect 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 PM 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 as Gabriel Torres (29). 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 motive in the shooting has not been made clear, and authorities did not say how the victims were related to the suspect.

Cover photo: Melissa Sue Gerrits / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

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