'He just walked right through and shot him': Frantic 911 calls reveal gory details from Raleigh shooting
RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA: Distressed callers contacted 911 and described terrifying scenes of bloody bodies lying on the ground after the tragic shooting in Raleigh, North Carolina last week, even as frantic screams and gunshots echoed through the calm neighborhood. The fear and horror that engulfed the Hedingham neighborhood of Raleigh on Thursday, October 13, were captured in recordings of the calls that Raleigh police released on Friday, October 14. At the time, police said a 15-year-old male suspect had shot and killed five people, and he had only been captured after an hours-long manhunt.
According to AP, a man reported witnessing the shooter kill off-duty police officer Gabriel Torres in the Hedingham neighborhood, northeast of downtown, in one of the earliest calls, made at about 5.12 pm on Thursday, October 12. The caller said, “He just walked right through and shot him. He walked by and shot him for no reason. It looks like he’s bleeding from his chest.” The shooter, according to the caller, was dressed in camouflage and was making his way toward the neighborhood's back trail, the Neuse River Greenway.
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Around the same time, a neighbor reported hearing several gunshots and heard people crying. She then looked out her window and saw two victims with gunshot wounds. She explained to 911, “There’s somebody that’s laying by the bush and somebody that’s laying on the porch.” Another caller claimed the suspect was carrying what appeared to be a shotgun moments later. “There’s a white kid running out here with a shotgun, he shot somebody. ... He ran back into the woods,” the caller remarked.
A short while later, another man informed the dispatcher that he had come across an unconscious woman on the trail. The man's reaction when the dispatcher told him there are reports of an active shooter revealed his perplexity over what was happening. “Oh my god!” he exclaimed as he moved closer to the woman and tried to explain the situation. The dispatcher asked, "Sir, what's going on there?" to which the man replied, “Um, um, um. She's bleeding.”
At that point, he learned that there is another shooting victim on the trail. The caller exclaims, "Oh my god, there's another person." Then he can be heard saying to the other witnesses, “Guys, we got to get out of the area. She said there might be an active shooter around here.” The suspect, Austin Thompson, was rushed to a North Carolina hospital where he was in critical condition after being captured by police near the Neuse River Greenway, local walking and bike area, Raleigh Police Chief Estella Patterson said during a news conference on Friday, October 14, according to AP.
Residents of the neighborhood were instructed to stay inside their homes for hours as police performed an extensive search before the shooting spree started at 5 pm on the streets. Authorities haven't disclosed what prompted the alleged shooter to open fire in the neighborhood and on the route where others were biking and jogging. Among those killed were three women, aged 52, 49, and 35, as well as a 16-year-old. Gabriel Torres, a 29-year-old cop who died in the shooting, had been on his way to work when the confrontation started, according to police. A 59-year-old woman was hospitalized is in critical condition and a police officer was treated and released, according to the police statement.