President Biden spoke in support of gun control legislation Friday in response to Thursday’s shooting in Raleigh, North Carolina, that left five dead.
Officials in Raleigh on Friday identified the victims of Thursday’s mass shooting, who include a 16-year-old boy, a police officer who was on his way to work and a woman who was critically injured just days before her birthday.
The suspect, a 15-year-old boy, is accused of opening fire near the Neuse River Greenway area in Raleigh just after 5 p.m., officials previously said.
He was taken into custody about three hours later after he was allegedly “contained” inside a nearby home.
RALEIGH SHOOTING UPDATE: NORTH CAROLINA OFFICIALS HOLD PRESS CONFERENCE AFTER 5 KILLED, 2 WOUNDED
Police cordoned off a section of homes in the Hedingham community after a 15-year-old boy allegedly opened fire, killing five people and wounding two others Oct. 14, 2022. (Audrey Conklin/Fox News Digital)
“We’ve grieved and prayed with too many families who have had to bear the terrible burden of these mass shootings,” Biden said. “Too many families have had spouses, parents and children taken from them forever. This year, and even in just the five months since Buffalo and Uvalde, there are too many mass shootings across America, including ones that don’t even make the national news.”
NORTH CAROLINA SHOOTING LEAVES 5 DEAD, INCLUDING OFF-DUTY POLICE OFFICER; SUSPECT IN CUSTODY
President Biden gives a speech before designating Camp Hale a national monument Oct. 12, 2022, in Red Cliff, Colo. (Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images)
The violence unfolded in a portion of the Hedingham neighborhood near Osprey Cove Drive and Bay Harbor Drive, where the greenway is located behind a section of homes. As gunfire erupted, police asked residents to remain inside their homes and call 911 immediately if they saw or heard anything.
“For the lives we’ve lost and the lives we can save, I took historic action to stop gun violence in our nation, including signing the most significant gun safety law in nearly 30 years. But we must do more,” Biden wrote.
“We must pass an assault weapons ban. The American people support this commonsense action to get weapons of war off our streets. House Democrats have already passed it. The Senate should do the same. Send it to my desk, and I’ll sign it.”
In this aerial image taken with a drone, law enforcement work at the scene of a shooting in Raleigh, N.C., Thursday, Oct. 13, 2022. (Travis Long/The News & Observer via AP)
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Officials identified the deceased off-duty police officer as 29-year-old Gabriel Torres, who was on his way to work at the time. Other victims include James Roger Thompson, 16, Nicole Conners, 52, Susan Karnatz, 49, and Mary Marshall, 35.
The crime scene spanned over two miles, Raleigh Police Chief Estella D. Patterson said Friday.
Fox News’ Audrey Conklin and Stephanie Pagones contributed to this report.