15-year-old shot, teen suspect in custody after shooting near Cary High School

A 15-year-old was shot and a 17-year-old is in custody after a shooting near Cary High School on Thursday afternoon that prompted three nearby schools to be locked down.

The teen who was shot was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries, Police Chief Terry Sult said.

Police responded around 2:30 p.m. to a call about an “active shooter” in the 600 block of Walnut Street, according to a town news release, and found a crowd of teens.

Sult clarified later that it wasn’t an active shooter situation or a random shooting. The two teens know each other, he said, and there’s no additional threat to the public.

“It may be something as simple as a disagreement between [two people] or two groups,” Sult said at a Thursday afternoon news briefing. “I don’t know yet.”

The 15-year-old was shot in the leg or groin area, Sult said at a later media briefing. An officer already on patrol in the area heard the gunshots and was able to promptly give “life-saving aid” to the 15-year-old, Sult said.

Police recovered two firearms from the teen suspect, Sult said. He said police expected to file a juvenile petition Thursday night against the suspect.

Sult said police are still determining how the teens know each other and what started the shooting. At a late afternoon news briefing, he said it had not yet been determined where the teens attend school.

The investigation is continuing, Sult said, and more people could be charged. He said a video circulating on social media that shows a fight means officers have additional people to talk to. But that doesn’t necessarily mean there could be additional people charged, he added.

Walnut Street from Cary Towne Boulevard to Maynard Road was closed while police conducted their investigation.

The crime scene appeared to include the Cary Village Square shopping center on Cary Towne Boulevard.

3 schools on lockdown

Cary police said officers will be at Cary High Friday for added security.

Adams Elementary School, East Cary Middle School and Cary High were placed on Code Yellow lockdown Thursday afternoon, according to the Wake County school system.

In a Code Yellow, all students remain inside the building while classes continue as normal.

At 3:40 p.m., only half the students at Cary High had left the campus.

Staff writer T. Keung Hui contributed to this report.

This story will be updated.

This story was originally published October 24, 2024 at 3:28 PM.