“In this situation, there’s no question [because of] the mass loss of life, in my opinion, this case be transferred and tried in superior court,” Freeman told the Raleigh News and Observer. Freeman’s office did not respond to a request for further details.
In North Carolina, cases involving juveniles originate in district court, though prosecutors can seek their transfer to an adult court. If a judge determines probable cause for first-degree murder, the case will automatically move to superior court.
Officials have not publicly identified the suspect. The Washington Post is not naming him because he is a juvenile and has not formally been charged as an adult.
The 15-year-old, who was taken into police custody after a four-hour search Thursday, remained hospitalized in critical condition Friday, according to police. Police have not said how he received his injuries.
The Raleigh Police Department did not immediately respond Saturday to questions about the status of the investigation, including whether police have determined a motive, or how the firearm was obtained.
For Raleigh residents, the painful shock of being the latest American city to experience a mass shooting was still rippling through the community Saturday.
“You always think you will know what to say or do when something like this happens in another community and then it rocks yours,” said Patteson Dixon, a 30-year-old North Raleigh resident who works as a banker downtown. “You’re left reeling, wondering what to say that will make you and your neighbors feel safe again. You hope to know what the course of action is in that moment, and you never do.”
Knightdale High School, where the youngest shooting victim was a junior, postponed its homecoming weekend to join the community in mourning. A vigil is planned for Saturday afternoon to remember those who were killed: Nicole Conners, 52; Susan Karnatz, 49; Mary Marshall, 35; James Roger Thompson, 16; and Gabriel Torres, 29.
“I know Raleigh will endure,” Dixon said. “I can just feel it, but those who were impacted are right to demand some sort of action so this won’t happen again.”
To some in the community, the obvious action is gun control. Becky Ceartas, executive director of the Raleigh-based North Carolinians Against Gun Violence Action Fund, called for legislation that reduces gun violence from the national level on down.
“Since the shooter was a minor, there’s a question of where he got the weapons from,” Ceartas said. “Minors usually obtain these weapons from their own homes or those of relatives, and one of the easiest steps we could take is to create a statewide program that educates gun owners on the need to secure their firearms. North Carolina still does not have such a program.”
Other measures could include laws that allow firearms to be removed from a person’s home if an “extreme risk” of hurting themselves or others can be established.
“We’ve been working on this issue in the state for years, and the legislature can do better,” Ceartas said.
In a 911 recording The Post obtained from the day of the shooting, a caller is heard describing the shooter as wearing “camo” and “looks like he’s like 15.” The unnamed person, who called from Osprey Cove Drive near the Neuse River Greenway, said the shooter had a “shotgun” and “killed my buddy,” who he said was an officer. The officer was later identified as Torres, who was off duty and heading to work.