Family and friends of the five victims who died in a Thursday shooting spree in Raleigh, North Carolina, are mourning the lives that were taken suddenly away from them in a 15-year-old suspect’s senseless act of violence.
On Thursday, Wake County District Attorney Lorri Freeman filed a juvenile petition against the suspect, who remains in critical condition, with the intent to transfer the case to the Supreme Court and charge him as an adult, according to WNCN.
The 15-year-old is accused of shooting the five victims within a two-mile radius of Raleigh’s Hedingham neighborhood, a middle-class golfing community, and the Neuse River Greenway that wraps around the neighborhood, just after 5 p.m.
Here’s what we know so far about the five victims who were killed:
Gabriel Torres was a 29-year-old officer with the Raleigh Police Department, a U.S. Marine, a husband and father of a two-year-old daughter. He was shot while off-duty and heading into work, according to authorities.
Torres lived on Osprey Cove Drive, where the shooter allegedly opened fire.
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Raleigh police have not said whether Torres had been responding to the shooting while off-duty when he was killed.
According to a GoFundMe for Torres titled “Benefit for the Family of Officer Torres,” Back The Blue NC is hosting a fundraiser in which 100% of proceeds will go toward his family.
“Gabriel Torres embodied the core values of the Raleigh Police Department — service, courage, fairness, integrity and compassion,” Carl Bailey, president of the Teamsters Law Enforcement League, said in a Friday statement. “From his time in the military to his service as a law enforcement professional, Officer Torres lived his entire adult life as a hero and dedicated guardian — both of his country and his community. Teamsters everywhere can honor him by following the example he set.”
Thompson was the brother of the 15-year-old gunman and a junior at Knightdale High School in Knightdale, North Carolina. His brother was a sophomore at the same high school.
“It is an unexpected loss, and we are saddened by it,” Knightdale High School Principal Keith Richardson said in a Friday statement. “Our condolences, thoughts, and prayers go out to James’ family, the other victims, their families and all who have been impacted by yesterday’s events.”
The school and school district offered counseling to students in need of support following the shooting.
Nicole Connors’ husband, Tracey Howard, described the 52-year-old to ABC11 as “a fine, loving person” and “bubbly.”
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“Everybody in the neighborhood knew her,” he told the outlet.
Tracey Howard found Nicole and their dog, Sammy, both shot dead on their front porch. A neighbor was also injured and lying on the ground nearby after the shooting, according to ABC11.
“Feel like we just walking through a daze right now,” Tracey said.
Susan “Sue” Karnatz was a runner, a wife and mother. She also had a dog, Lucy, whom she walked every morning, according to her husband, Tom Karnatz.
“We had big plans together/ And we had little plans together. We had plans together for big adventures/ And plans together for the mundane days in between. We had plans together with the boys/ And we had plans together as empty nesters. We had plans together for growing old. Always together. Now those plans are laid to waste,” Karnatz wrote in a Friday Facebook post.
His post continued: “We have big memories together/ And we have little memories together. We have memories together of joyous occasions/ And memories together of plain times in between. We have memories together from before the boys/ And memories, many memories together with the boys. Always and for ever, memories together.”
Mary Marshall was a dog owner and engaged to Robert Steele.
“This woman was my everything…” Steele wrote in the description of a GoFundMe page for funeral expenses titled. “Mary Marshall.” “She meant so much to me and her parents and sister. Please help us memorialize her in the way that she deserves.”
Another injured victim, Marcille Lynn Gardner, was shot just days before her 60th birthday and remains in critical condition.
Police took the gunman into custody about three hours later after he was allegedly “contained” inside a nearby home.
Anyone with information about the shooting are being asked to call 919-996-1193.
