Five people were killed, including an off-duty police officer, when a teenager opened fire on a hiking trail in a state capital city.

On Thursday evening, a 15-year-old began shooting in the streets of the Raleigh, North Carolina neighborhood of Hedingham.

Neighbors immediately called 911 around 5pm. When police arrived the suspect fled onto a nearby hiking trail. He killed three more people on the trail and injured two, including another police officer.

‘The shootings occurred in the streets, then the suspect fled toward the greenway. We had more shootings occur in the greenway,’ Raleigh Chief of Police Estella Patterson said on Friday morning.

Although police were quick to the scene, Patterson said that there was a ‘long standoff’ with the suspect on the hiking trail. He was arrested around 9.37pm on Thursday night.

Police said the shootings took place over a long stretch of trail. ‘The crime scene was pretty expansive, over 2 miles,’ Patterson said. She asked the public to stay away from that portion of trail for the time being.

Patterson identified the victims as Nicole Conners, 52, Susan Karnatz, 49, Mary Marshall, 35, and Officer Gabriel Torres, 29.

Officer Torres was off-duty when he was killed, and police said they were unsure if he attempted to engage with the shooter. They did confirm that he was on his way to work on Thursday evening.

A fifth victim was not identified, but described as a 16-year-old white male.

Marcile Gardner, 59, was injured and is still in critical condition.

Another Raleigh police officer was injured while responding to the shooting as well, but has since been treated and released from the hospital.

‘I am extremely proud of the selfless acts of our Raleigh Police Department officers,’ Patterson said on Friday.

The suspect was described as a 15-year-old white male. He was taken into custody and transported to an area hospital in critical condition, Patterson said.

Law enforcement and officials praised the swift resonse from local police, but said more needed to be done to combat gun violence. ‘We mourn and share the loss of not only our officer, but all the victims of this senseless gun crime,’ Patterson said.

‘We’re sad, furious and have many questions that’ll soon be answered. But we already know the core truth. No community should feel the pain of gun violence, and as policy makers, we can not turn away from what has happened here and across the country,’ North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper stated on Twitter on Friday morning.

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