The Raleigh community continued to react and recover Friday morning from a mass shooting that shook the state’s capitol city and left five people dead. A few miles west, law enforcement agencies in Orange County offered their support and sympathy to those affected by the murders.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Office, Chapel Hill Police Department and Carrboro Police Department each shared social media posts featuring photos of the Raleigh Police Department badge, since one of the department’s off-duty officers was among those killed Thursday evening. Posts from Carrboro Police and the sheriff’s office also offered condolences to the other families and victims of the shooting.

While Thursday’s shooting happened around 45 minutes away from the Orange County lines, the length and severity of the incident gripped many Triangle residents. Raleigh Police said Friday the shooter, who is a 15-year-old white male, initially opened fire along a walking trail near a neighborhood east of North Carolina’s capitol city after 5 p.m. A hunt for the suspect then lasted hours, as he eluded officers and nearby residents were instructed to shelter in place. Authorities later captured the suspect shortly after 9:30 p.m., saying he was taken to a nearby trauma center in critical condition.

North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper called the murders a “senseless, horrific and infuriating act of violence” during a press conference Thursday night. He shared more thoughts during an event Friday morning, calling for an end to gun violence and announcing that the state flags will be flown at half-staff.

“No neighborhood, no parent, no child, no one should feel this fear in their communities,” said the governor. “We’re standing with the victims and their families in this moment of unspeakable agony.”

Photo via Robert Willett/The News & Observer and Associated Press.

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