Raleigh shooting: Police say 15-year-old suspect in custody after five killed, including police officer, in North Carolina

Raleigh, North Carolina — A gunman who opened fire along a boardwalk in North Carolina’s capital on Thursday killed five people who spent hours eluding officers after being cornered and arrested in their homes, police said.

Among those killed by the suspect included an off-duty police officer, who police told ABC News the suspect was a 15-year-old boy. He was arrested at around 3:37 p.m. His identity has not been revealed.

According to a federal briefing memo, the suspect “has been taken into custody with life-threatening injuries. It is unclear whether the suspect’s injuries were due to self-inflicted injuries.”

On Friday morning, officers were spotted searching a home near where the shooting took place.

According to Raleigh Mayor Mary Ann Baldwin, the shooting occurred along the Neuse River Greenway in a residential neighborhood northeast of downtown around 5 p.m. It closed roads and warned residents to stay indoors while they searched for the shooter.

Two people, including another police officer, were taken to hospital. The officer was later released, but the other survivor remained in critical condition.

“Tonight, terror has reached our doorstep. The nightmare of every community has come to Raleigh. This is a senseless, horrifying and infuriating act of violence committed,” Gov. Roy Cooper told reporters. Told.

Officials did not provide details of the motive, but Baldwin joined Cooper in condemning the violence.

“We have to stop mindless violence in America. We have to deal with gun violence,” the mayor said.

The Raleigh shooting was the latest in a violent week across the country. Five people were killed in a shooting at a home in Inman, South Carolina, on Sunday. On Wednesday night, in Connecticut, he was shot dead after two police officers were ambushed by an emergency call about possible domestic violence. A police officer was shot dead in Greenville, Mississippi this week. Decatur, Illinois. Philadelphia, Las Vegas, Central Florida. Two of these officers died, his in Greenville and Las Vegas.

Watch: Law enforcement officers set up a staging area to look for suspects.

The Associated Press/USA TODAY/Northeastern University Mass Murder Database said Thursday’s violence was the 25th mass murder in which a victim has been shot in 2022. Mass murder is defined as the killing of four or more people, excluding the perpetrator.

Brook Medina, who lives in the neighborhood adjacent to Greenway, was driving home about 5:15 p.m. when about 20 patrol cars, both marked and unmarked, drove about nine miles from downtown Raleigh. I saw it running towards a remote residential area. She then saw an ambulance speeding in the other direction towards her nearest hospital.

WATCH: Hedingham residents describe chaos as police swarm scene

Her husband, who was working from home with her and four children, began contacting neighbors and realized there was a stay-at-home order.

The family closed all the window blinds, locked the doors and gathered in the second-floor hallway, said Medina, who works as vice president of communications at the think tank. The family listened to police scanners and watched the local news before heading back downstairs when danger seemed far from home.

“We’re going to go undercover and be very vigilant for the rest of the night. Turn on all the lights and lock the doors,” she said.

She described the area, known as Hedingham, as a sprawling, dense, tree-lined community filled with single-family homes, duplexes and townhomes that are more affordable than the rest of the Raleigh area.

Alison Greenawalt, 29, another neighbor, said she was sitting on the couch with her cat around 5 p.m. when she heard “three gunshots in quick succession”. She said the police arrived quickly and was grateful that they were there during the chaotic hour while she took shelter indoors. Afterwards, he tried to drive home from work, but was driven back by the police who were blocking the nearby streets, and did not return home until around 10:30 p.m.

“I spent most of the night sitting at home with the lights off and the windows closed, just waiting to hear the news,” she said.

Dazio reports from Los Angeles. Associated Press writer Michael Kunzelman of Silver Spring, MD, and Gary D. Robertson and Allen G. Breed of Raleigh contributed to this report.

ABC News and WTVD contributed to this report.