Who was Gabriel Jesus Torres? Off-duty cop, 29, killed in Raleigh shooting served as a Marine for 4 years

Gabriel Jesus Torres was on his way to begin his shift but was shot dead

UPDATED OCT 15, 2022

Gabriel Jesus Torres, 29, was a victim of the mass shooting in northeast Raleigh and was in the force for only 18 months (Gabriel Jesus Torres/Facebook)

RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA: A 15-year-old was responsible for the mass shooting in Raleigh that killed five people and injured two others on Thursday night, October 13. The shooting began at around 5 pm in the Hedingham neighborhood near Osprey Cove Drive and Bay Harbor Drive and Raleigh Police Chief Estella Patterson later confirmed that the crime scene spanned around 2 miles across. An off-duty police officer was killed in the mass shooting as well.

Gabriel Jesus Torres, 29, was an off-duty officer at the time of the shooting and was on his way to way to begin his shift when he was shot dead in the mass shooting. Raleigh Police Chief Estella Patterson said Friday morning, October 14, "This is an extremely, extremely painful event for our officers and me. I was immediately taken aback, shocked by what occurred." The News & Observer reports that Torres lived near the Neuse River Greenway. The 15-year-old suspect Austin Thompson murdered his older brother, 16-year-old James Thompson, and his neighbor Nicole Connors along with Connors' dog, Sami. He is then said to have shot Susan Karnatz, 49, Mary Marshall, 35, and the off-duty police officer Gabriel Torres.

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Who was Gabriel Jesus Torres?

Before joining the police, Gabriel Torres served as a Marine at Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville as explained by Patterson. The 29-year-old cop was with the force for 18 months only. According to information provided to the outlet by the United States Marine Corps, Torres served as a Marine from November 2016 to February 2021 and reached the rank of sergeant. He is survived by his wife and one child. The 911 caller who informed the responders of the shooting confined Torres' off-duty officer status saying, "I’ve got one down. One male down. Hispanic. This is bad. He’s an off-duty officer," as reported by WRAL.

Gabriel Torres was a 29-year-old police officer who previously served in the Marines. (Facebook: Gabriel Jesus Torres) — Gabriel Torres was a 29-year-old police officer who previously served in the Marines (Facebook/Gabriel Jesus Torres)

Raleigh Police Protective Association took to their Facebook to remember Officer Torres saying, "We ask all of you to please pray and keep in your thoughts Officer Torres and the other victims of this senseless act of evil." It further read, "We are committed to Officer Torres’s family and are in the process of setting up fundraising efforts that are approved and authorized by the family." A GoFundMe was set up soon after.