Raleigh mourns after 5 people killed in shooting, including off-duty officer

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The shooting near the Neuse River Greenway Trail on Thursday in the Hedingham neighborhood sparked a massive manhunt that lasted into the night in northeastern Raleigh.

“This is a sad and tragic day for the city of Raleigh,” said Raleigh Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin, who was visibly shaken, at a press conference Thursday evening.

Friday morning, Raleigh Police Chief Estella Patterson named the victims at the press conference. They are:

• Raleigh Police Officer Gabriel Torres, 29

• Nicole Conners, 53

• Susan Karnatz, 49

• Mary Marshall, 34

• James Thompson, 16

Police said Thursday night they had a 15-year-old teen in custody, an effort that sparked some confusion during the search as residents were told to stay inside their homes. Police first announced that they had “contained” the suspected shooter, then arrested him at about 9:37 p.m. Thursday.

Sources confirmed for The News & Observer that the 15-year-old is Austin Thompson, a sophomore at Knightdale High School and the brother of James Thompson.

Austin Thompson is hospitalized in critical condition at WakeMed, where he was taken after being captured by police Thursday night.

Police have not identified a motive or said whether there was a connection between the suspect and the victims.

Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman said she has filed petitions to get the case moved from juvenile to Superior Court.

“In this situation, there is no question this mass loss of life, in my opinion, this case be transferred and tried in Superior Court,” Freeman said.

The full scope of the shooting and how events unfolded likely won’t be known until the city releases a five-day report next week.

Senior Raleigh police officer Casey Joseph Clark, the injured officer, was released from the hospital after getting treated for his injuries. Marcille Gardner, 59, is still being treated for her injuries, Raleigh Police Lt. Jason Borneo said.

Flags were lowered to half-staff on Friday morning by Gov. Roy Cooper to honor the victims. Cooper joined Baldwin, Borneo and other officials at two of the media briefings at the Raleigh Municipal Building, a few feet from a memorial for fallen police officers.

“Tonight, terror has reached our doorstep,” Cooper said. “The nightmare of every community has come to Raleigh. This is a senseless, horrific and infuriating act of violence that has been committed.”

Local and state lawmakers across the state sent their condolences and were joined by President Joe Biden, who issued a statement Friday afternoon. He said the shooting was “enough” for a country that has had “too many families who have had to bear the terrible burden of these mass shootings. “

“Jill and I are grieving with the families in Raleigh, North Carolina, whose loved ones were killed and wounded in yet another mass shooting in America,” Biden said in a statement. “We are thinking of yet another community shaken and shattered as they mourn the loss of friends and neighbors, including an off-duty police officer.”

What we know about the victims

Torres, a former U.S. Marine from Camp Lejeune, had been on the job for 18 months when he was fatally shot on his way to work, Patterson said. He lived in the neighborhood and was not in his patrol car nor in uniform at the time of the incident. He leaves behind a wife and child, Patterson said.

His military awards include a Good Conduct Medal, a National Defense Service Medal, a Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, a Humanitarian Service Medal and a Sea Service Deployment Ribbon. His military occupancy specialty was as an electrician.

The Raleigh Police Protective Association said it organizing a fundraiser Torres’ family.

According to the Wake County Public School System, James Thompson was a junior at Knightdale High School.

WCPSS sent a message from Lindsay Mahaffey, the board chair, and Catty Moore, the superintendent, to parents in the school system with information about how students can get help to cope with the traumatic event.

“Like you, we are shocked, saddened and broken-hearted,” the message read. “Our hearts go out to the victims’ loved ones, and our community continues to seek answers around this tragedy and solutions to prevent such unspeakable events in the future.”

Susan Karnatz, a 49-year-old mother, lived in Hedingham with her husband, Tom. In a Facebook post, he grieved the loss of Karnatz, saying the couple had big plans with their sons.

Shooting launches manhunt

Law enforcement from across the region descended on an “active shooting” shortly after 5 p.m. Thursday. About 5:30 p.m., Raleigh police advised residents in Hedingham to remain in their homes and to contact 911 if they see anything or anyone suspicious. The area was near Osprey Cove and Bay Harbor drives, on the west side of the Neuse River.

By 6:49 p.m., another part of Raleigh was told to be on high alert. Police said people in the area of McConnell Oliver Drive, Tarheel Club Drive and Old Milburnie Road, east of the Neuse River, also should remain indoors. Drivers were told to avoid the area and seek alternate routes.

The N.C. Department of Public Safety said in a statement that it “made numerous state resources available in response to the active shooting incident in Raleigh this afternoon.”

Patterson was in Dallas at the Major Cities Chiefs Association annual meeting as Thursday’s events unfolded. She spoke with The News & Observer after Friday’s news conference about how she learned that one of her officers had been killed and another was injured.

“All day, we had been talking about the challenges we’re facing right now with gun violence and youth violence when I got an alert, and then came the phone calls,” she said.

She immediately left to fly back to Raleigh, landing shortly after midnight. The next few hours were making sure the city was covered with enough officers and that officers were being taken care of.

“All day, we had been talking about the challenges we’re facing right now with gun violence and youth violence when I got an alert, and then came the phone calls,” she said.

She immediately left to fly back to Raleigh, landing shortly after midnight. The next few hours were making sure the city was covered with enough officers and that officers were being taken care of.

The police department had to make sure there weren’t additional victims, Patterson said.

“We had to do a full canvas of that complete neighborhood, door-to-door checking to make sure everyone was okay and accounted for,” she said.

On top of that, the August shooting of Wake Sheriff’s Deputy Ned Byrd is still fresh in law enforcement officers’ minds, she said. He was killed on-duty. Patterson said Thursday’s shooting adds to the “stress and trauma” that officers are facing.

“As policy makers, we cannot, and we will not, turn away (from) what has happened here,” Cooper said. “We must be resolved to make changes and to succeed.”

State Highway Patrol aviation and local patrol members, State Capitol police officers, Alcohol Law Enforcement special agents and the State Bureau of Investigation were among the agencies dispatched to assist Raleigh Police, Cooper said at the 10:45 p.m. media briefing.

“These law enforcement officers ran to the crisis when they knew that there was an active shooter who was ready to kill people,” Cooper said. “I’m grateful for the coordinated effort that happened here tonight.”

Colleen Hammond and Kristen Johnson contributed to this report.