Five people, including a police officer, have been killed in a residential shooting, the mayor of North Carolina has announced.
Raleigh Mayor Mary-Anne Baldwin told reporters that several people were shot on the Neuse River Greenway around 5 p.m., and the police department told her around 8 p.m. that the suspect was at a residence in the area. has been “saved”.
Multiple police vehicles and several ambulances swarmed the Hedingham neighborhood beginning in the late afternoon, and officers remained in place for hours during an apparent search. Details of what happened were still scarce as of early evening.
“State and local officers are on the ground working to stop the shooter and keep people safe,” Gov. Roy Cooper tweeted shortly before 7 p.m.
Earlier, WakeMed Hospital spokeswoman Deb Lowery said at least four people connected to the shooting were being treated at the hospital, but no other information was immediately available.
Police closed several roads in the area, and several law enforcement vehicles could be seen parked both on the streets and in the driveways of two-story homes. The neighborhood borders the Neuse River Greenway Trail, and is approximately 9 miles (14 km) from downtown Raleigh.
The Raleigh Police Department said in a statement via Twitter that it was “at the scene of an active shooting,” and advised residents in several neighborhoods to stay indoors.
Brooke Medina was driving home around 5:15 p.m. when she saw about two dozen police cars, both marked and unmarked, approaching her neighborhood as she pulled off the highway. He then saw ambulances speeding in the other direction to a nearby hospital.
She and her husband, who were working from home with their four children, began reaching out to neighbors and realized there was a shelter-in-place order.
Medina, who works as vice president of communications at a think tank, said the family closed the curtains on all their windows, locked the doors and huddled in the upstairs hallway. Your family listens to the police scanner and watches the local news before heading back downstairs as the threat moves further away from their home.
“We’re just going to hunt for the rest of the night and be very vigilant. Keep all our lights on, doors locked,” he said.
He described Hedingham as a sprawling, dense, tree-lined neighborhood filled with single-family homes, duplexes and townhomes that cost more than other parts of the Raleigh area.
Medina said she often takes her kids on bike rides along the Greenway during the day, but usually brings pepper spray.
“There are a lot of places where someone can disappear,” she said.