Five dead in North Carolina mass shooting

Five people have been shot dead and several injured in a mass shooting in Raleigh, North Carolina, officials say. 

An off-duty female cop is among those killed. 

The shooting happened near the Neuse River Greenway, a popular trail on the outskirts of the state capital, the city’s major said. 

No motive has been established yet, but the suspect has been arrested and police have described the suspect as a “white male juvenile.” 

The shooting happened just after 17:00 EDT. 

At least two people including another police officer were wounded and taken to hospital, the mayor said. 

One victim remains in a critical condition. 

Mass shootings are a consistent problem in the US. 

North Carolina shooting

Police tweeted shortly before 6 p.m. that officers were “on the scene of an active shooting in the area of the Neuse River Greenway near Osprey Cove Drive and Bay Harbor Drive.”

At around 8:30 p.m., police advised residents to remain in their homes “until further notice.”

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper tweeted after the 5 dead in Raleigh shooting, that he spoke with the mayor and “instructed state law enforcement to provide assistance responding to the active shooter in East Raleigh.”

5 dead in Raleigh

“This is a sad and tragic day for the city of Raleigh,” Baldwin said at the news conference. “All of us in Raleigh right now need to come together. We need to support those in our community who have suffered a terrible loss. A loss of a loved one. We need to support the family of the police officer who was killed and also the police officer who was shot.”

Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin

The hours-long ordeal and subsequent search for the suspect began shortly after 5 p.m. when multiple people were shot in the Hedingham neighbourhood.