The victims of a mass shooting in Raleigh, North Carolina, include a police officer on his way to work
- A gunman opened fire in Raleigh, North Carolina on Thursday, killing five and injuring two more.
- Among the dead is a 16-year-old boy and an off-duty police officer, authorities said Friday.
A gunman opened fire in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Thursday evening, killing five people — including a teenager and an off-duty police officer — and leaving two more injured, police say.
The attack unfolded at around 5 p.m. local time near the Neuse River Greenway in northeast Raleigh, authorities said.
At a press conference Friday morning, Raleigh Police Chief Estella Patterson identified the victims of the shooting as 53-year-old Nicole Conners, 49-year-old Susan Karnatz, 34-year-old Mary Marshall, 16-year-old James Thompson, and 29-year-old off-duty police officer Gabriel Torres.
Two other people were injured, Patterson said, including 59-year-old Marcille Gardner, who is in critical condition, and another Raleigh police officer — who has since been treated and released from the hospital.
"There are several families in our community waking up this morning without their loved ones. We grieve for them today. Our prayers are also with those who are injured," Raleigh Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin said at a press conference.
"We also must support these victims and their families. The depth of their pain is unimaginable," North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper told reporters. "I saw the faces of Raleigh police officers last night, and their pain was evident. And I know that's happening all over the city."
Patterson identified the shooting suspect as a 15-year-old boy who was taken into custody following the shooting and is in critical condition.
"He had to be between 13 and 16 max," a witness who saw the gunman on Thursday told local station WRAL. "He was a child. You just don't imagine things like that."
Local officials said Thursday night that while the shooting happened just after 5 p.m., authorities didn't contain the suspect until 8 p.m. Mayor Baldwin said there is an active investigation into the shooting.