North Carolina shooting: Boy, 15, arrested after five killed in ‘infuriating and tragic act of gun violence’
A 15-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of killing five people in North Carolina and is in a critical condition in hospital, US police have said.
The boy, who has not been named, is alleged to have fatally shot two people in the state’s capital city of Raleigh before opening fire on a walking trail, killing three more people, and wounding two others.
Among those killed in the Thursday night attack were a 16-year-old boy named James Roger Thompson, and a 29-year-old off-duty police officer called Gabriel Torres.
The other victims killed in the shooting were 52-year-old Nicole Connors, 34-year-old Mary Marshall and 49-year-old Susan Karnatz.
Marcille Lynn Gardner, 59, was wounded in the attack and remains in critical condition in hospital, while a second police officer, Casey Joseph Clark, was also injured but has been released.
Raleigh police chief Estella Patterson said those killed were a racially diverse group, and authorities have not yet determined a motive for the shooting.
The incident set off a massive police response across the city, with officers searching for the suspect for several hours before cornering him inside a house and arresting him.
Officers from numerous law enforcement agencies swarmed the Hedingham neighbourhood, a residential area northeast of Raleigh city centre, closing roads and warning residents to stay inside while they searched for the shooter.
Residents talk with a police officer in front of the house where the suspected shooter lived
Law enforcement officers work a crime scene in the Hedingham neighbourhood
‘No one should feel this fear’
Governor Roy Cooper called the attack an “infuriating and tragic act of gun violence”.
“Today we’re sad, we’re angry and we want to know the answers to all the questions,” he said.
“I think we all know the core truth – no neighbour, no parent, no child, no grandparent, no one should feel this fear in these communities – no one.”
In a statement, President Joe Biden said he and first lady Jill Biden are grieving with victims’ families, and his administration is working with Mr Cooper to help local authorities with their investigation.
“Enough. We’ve grieved and prayed with too many families who have had to bear the terrible burden of these mass shootings,” he said.
The teenage suspect was taken to hospital
A huge police response ensued after the shooting
The incident in Raleigh is just the latest in a violent week across America, with another five people killed in a shooting in South Carolina on Sunday.
On Wednesday night, two police officers were fatally shot in Connecticut after apparently being drawn into an ambush by an emergency call about possible domestic violence.
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Police officers have been shot this week in Greenville, Mississippi; Decatur, Illinois; Philadelphia, Las Vegas, and central Florida.
Two of those officers, one in Greenville and one in Las Vegas, were killed.
Thursday’s violence was the 25th mass killing in 2022 in which the victims were fatally shot, according to the Northeastern University Mass Killings database.
A mass killing is defined as when four or more people are killed, excluding the perpetrator.
Vladimir Putin told Donald Trump he “will not back down” from Russia’s goals in Ukraine during a phone call today, the Kremlin has said.
The Russian president spoke to his US counterpart for almost an hour, and Mr Trump “again raised the issue of an early end to military action” in Ukraine, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters.
In response, Mr Putin said “Russia will not back down” from its aims there, which include “the elimination of the well-known root causes that led to the current state of affairs,” Mr Ushakov said.
The phrase “root causes” is shorthand for Moscow’s argument that it was compelled to invade Ukraine in order to prevent the country from joining NATO.
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Trump and Putin’s latest call on Ukraine
Ukraine and its European allies say this is a pretext to justify what they call an imperial-style war, but Mr Trump has previously shown sympathy with Russia.
At the same time, Mr Putin told the US president that Russia is ready to continue negotiating, the aide said.
The Russian president said any prospective peace deal must see Ukraine give up its NATO bid and recognise his country’s territorial gains.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, seen with Mr Trump in June, is pushing for Ukraine to join NATO. Pic: Reuters
He also briefed Mr Trump on agreements made last month, which saw Russia and Ukraine exchange prisoners of war and dead soldiers.
Specific dates for the third round of peace talks in Istanbul were not discussed – nor was the US decision to halt some shipments of critical weapons to Ukraine.
Mr Putin and Mr Trump’s call came after the Pentagon confirmed some weapons due to be sent to Ukraine have been held as it reviews military stockpiles.
The paused shipments include air defence missiles and precision-guided artillery, two people familiar with the situation have said.
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The decision led to Ukraine calling in the acting US envoy to Kyiv on Wednesday to underline the importance of military aid from Washington.
Kyiv also cautioned that the move would weaken Ukraine’s ability to defend itself against intensifying Russian airstrikes and battlefield advances.
Mr Putin and Mr Trump’s phone call was the sixth they have publicly disclosed since the US president returned to the White House in January.
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