5 dead, 2 injured; teen suspect in critical condition
With serious injuries, the 15-year-old suspect was taken into jail.
In a shooting on a nature trail in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Thursday night, at least five people were murdered, including an off-duty police officer, and two more were hurt, according to authorities.
According to a memo released by the Department of Homeland Security and acquired by ABC News, the unnamed suspect, who was taken into custody with life-threatening injuries and was described by local police as a 15-year-old boy, was taken into custody.
According to the document, “it is unknown if the suspect’s injuries are self-inflicted.”
Estella Patterson, the chief of the Raleigh Police Department, said the suspect was still in the hospital on Friday morning and was still in critical condition. She made no mention of how the teenage kid was hurt.
At a press conference, Patterson stated, “My heart is broken because we don’t have answers as to why this tragedy occurred. But I can assure you that the Raleigh Police Department and the community are strong, resilient, and we will recover.
The fatal shooting happened in Raleigh close to Osprey Cove and Bay Harbor roads, close to the Neuse River Greenway Trail. There are over two miles of crime scene. According to Patterson, the suspect opened fire on the nature trail after first killing three individuals and injuring two others while shooting two more people in the neighborhood’s streets.
The four other fatalities were named as James Roger Thompson, 16, Nicole Conners, 52, Susan Karnatz, 49, and Mary Marshall, 35. Police did not specify whether the victims had any link to the suspect.
Raleigh Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin told reporters that “there are multiple families in our city waking up this morning without their loved ones.” Nobody can possibly comprehend what they are all going through.