US: 5 killed by North Carolina shooter, suspect arrested

A gunman opened fire along a walking trail in North Carolina's capital city on Thursday, killing five people before leading police on a long manhunt, that forced residents across multiple neighbourhoods to take shelter in their homes.

Police in North Carolina say that the main suspect in the shooting was a white juvenile male.

Raleigh Police Lt Jason Borneo said that the suspect was taken into custody around 9.37pm on Thursday, hours after the shooting. His identity and age weren’t released.

Raleigh Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin told reporters that multiple people were shot on the Neuse River Greenway at around 5pm, and that an off-duty police officer was among those killed. She said at least two others were taken to hospitals, including another police officer. Officers from numerous law enforcement agencies swarmed the area, closing roads and warning residents to stay inside while they searched for the gunman.

Officers eventually contained the suspect in a residence before arresting him sometime before 10pm, authorities said. The suspect's identity and motive, however, were not released by investigators.

“We must stop this mindless violence in America, we must address gun violence," the mayor said.

"We have much to do, and tonight we have much to mourn.”

Brooke Medina, who lives in the neighbourhood bordering the greenway, was driving home at around 5.15pm when she saw about two dozen police cars — both marked and unmarked — race towards the residential area about 14km from Raleigh’s downtown. She then saw ambulances speeding the other direction, toward the closest hospital.

She and her husband, who was working from home with their four children, started reaching out to neighbours and realised there was a shelter-in-place order.

The family closed all of their window blinds, locked the doors and congregated in an upstairs hallway together, said Medina, who works as a communications Vice President at a think tank. The family listened to the police scanner and watched local news before going back downstairs, once the danger seemed to have moved further away from their home.

“We’re just going to hunker down for the rest of the night and be very vigilant. Keep all of our lights on, doors locked,” she said.

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Thursday’s violence was the 25th mass killing of 2022, in which the victims were fatally shot, according to The Associated Press/USA TODAY/Northeastern University Mass Killings database. A mass killing is defined as when four or more people are killed, excluding the perpetrator.