Raleigh shooting suspect, 15, in critical condition

Police in Raleigh, North Carolina, revealed on Friday morning that the five victims killed by a 15-year-old suspect on a deadly shooting rampage included an off-duty officer on his way to work and a 16-year-old boy.

Raleigh Police Chief Estella Patterson identified the deceased victims in the Thursday evening shooting as officer Gabriel Torres, 29, Nicole Conners, 52, Mary Marshall, 35, Susan Karnatz, 49, and James Thompson, 16.

K-9 Officer Casey Clark was wounded during the incident but has since been treated and released from the hospital.

Another surviving victim identified as Marcille Gardner, 59, remained in critical condition.

Patterson said Torres was off duty but on his way to work Thursday when he encountered the shooter.

Patterson said the 15-year-old suspect — identified as Austin Thompson by local media –was in critical condition at a hospital. The chief did not comment on a possible motive or future charges.

Neighbors react to the scene of the shooting at Castle Pines Dr. and Sahalee Way in Raleigh, North Carolina on Oct. 14, 2022.AP Photo/Chris Seward

Police escort a unidentified men out of a garage in Raleigh, North Carolina.Robert Willett/The News & Observer via AP

The 15-year-old suspect is in critical condition.AP Photo/Allen Breed

Police remain at the scene of the shooting.AP Photo/Chris Seward

Raleigh Chief of Police Estella Patterson speaks during a news conference outside Avery C. Upchurch in Raleigh, North Carolina.Travis Long/The News & Observer via AP

The incident began unfolding around 5 p.m. when the gunman opened fire in the 6000 block of Osprey Cove Drive before running into the Neuse River Greenway in a residential area northeast of downtown.

Police closed the area and spent hours searching for the shooter before ultimately cornering him in a home off Old Milburnie Road around 9:37 p.m. and taking him into custody.

It is unclear at this time how the 15-year-old suffered injuries requiring his hospitalization.

“We’re standing with you in this moment of unspeakable agony,” Gov. Roy Cooper said during Friday’s press conference. “No one should feel this fear in their communities. No one. As policymakers, we cannot, and we will not, turn away from what has happened here.”

Thursday’s rampage was the 25th mass killing in 2022 in which the victims were fatally shot.