Shooting at North Hills restaurant in Raleigh leaves two dead, one injured, police say
Updated Monday, Jan. 20. This story has been updated to reflect that the shooter died from his injuries. For more, see this story.
A man walked into a North Hills restaurant and fatally shot a coworker Friday before turning the gun on himself, police said.
The shooting at Coquette Brasserie happened at 10:57 a.m., minutes before the French restaurant would normally have opened for lunch. The shooting sparked a massive police response and sent several schools into lockdowns.
The shooter, later identified as George Colom Jr., eventually died from his injuries after being taken to the hospital in critical condition, Raleigh police said early Sunday morning.
A male bystander who was also shot suffered non-life threatening injuries, Police Chief Estella Patterson said at a news conference.
The man who died was Jonathan Mark Schaffer, 26, police said in a release late Friday evening. The bystander was Jonathan Aguilar Vega, 24, police said. He was treated for his injuries at the hospital and was released.
Police said Colom and Schaffer knew each other and that the shooting was not a random incident.
Colom served as executive chef for Coquette, according to a previous version of the website for Urban Food Group, the company that owns the restaurant. Colom’s name was on the website as late as Friday morning, but had been removed by Friday afternoon.
Schaffer’s LinkedIn profile says he had been a manager with Urban Food Group since February 2024.
On Sunday, Coquette released a statement on its Facebook page, writing “Last Friday, our Coquette and Urban Food Group family experienced a terrible tragedy. We have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and support from our Raleigh community and are grateful for it. We are working now to care for our staff and will be providing further updates on our website and social media channels soon.”
On Friday afternoon, businesses were empty in the district of boutiques, hotels and high-end apartments that would normally have been bustling. Roads remained eerily quiet.
Police chief: ‘A troubling event’
Officers responded to the 4300 block of the Circle at North Hills Street, after a 911 caller reported “a male was shooting at someone.”
Initial reports indicated several people might have been shot, according to the archive feed for Wake County fire departments.
The scene was contained and there was no threat to the community, Patterson said at the news conference, calling the shooting a “troubling event.”
Still, police asked people to avoid the area. Both North Hills exits of the Raleigh Beltline were closed for several hours.
Gov. Josh Stein posted a statement on X, formerly Twitter, saying he had offered state support and assistance to the police chief.
Mayor Janet Cowell, speaking from the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Washington, D.C., called Friday’s shooting tragic.
“I’m talking to other mayors, and unfortunately, these incidents seem to be happening right across the country,” she told ABC11, The News & Observer’s newsgathering partner, in a live interview.
“Raleigh is not alone in these issues, but again, we will do everything we can to keep Raleigh a safe community, to predict and prevent these kinds of situations,” she said.
Police asked anyone with information to call the department at 919-996-335 or to submit a tip to the Crimestoppers website at www.raleighcrimestoppers.org.
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‘Flashing lights and then cops all around’
Chris Muela, an employee at a nearby Chick-fil-A, said police told them around 11 a.m. not to let anyone inside the restaurant.
“All we saw was this: flashing lights and then cops all around,” Muela said.
Most businesses seemed to decide on their own whether to stay open. Kings Bowl, which normally opens at 11 a.m. on Fridays, said it would open at 5 p.m. Down the road, patrons left the Fitness Connection after the gym said it was closing for the day.
Emma Hunter, a New Jersey resident visiting her sister for the day, had come to North Hills to shop.
“I’ve been here a bunch and I would never feel unsafe around here,” she said.
Caroline Coley, 18, a student at Grace Christian School, had an appointment at North Hills at noon but got a call from her mother telling her not to go.
Her mother, Gretchen Coley, owns The Coley Group in North Hills and witnessed the incident, her daughter said.
“I saw her on the news and she was crying and traumatized,” Caroline said.
Once it was clear that it was safe, Caroline rushed over to meet her mom. She said she lives in the area, as does her grandmother.
“I love it here — everyone’s out here during the day,” she said. “Now it’s dead; it’s really scary.”
Response from North Hills, GoFundMe
North Hills is located off of Six Forks and Lassiter Mill roads, near the Beltline in Midtown Raleigh.
It opened as a strip mall in 1960 before being turned into a two-story indoor mall a few years later, according to its website.
It’s now owned by Kane Realty Corp., which also manages developments such as Smoky Hollow and The Dillon in downtown Raleigh and Stanhope Student Apartments at N.C. State University. North Hills straddles both sides of Six Forks Roads and includes housing, high-end stores, a movie theater and several upscale restaurants.
On Instagram Friday, North Hills said: “The safety of our tenants, visitors and community is our top priority. Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected. We will continue to work closely with RPD as the investigation unfolds.”
A GoFundMe campaign was launched Friday to help those affected at Coquette by the shooting.
“As this restaurant family navigates a path forward, the Raleigh community is committed to supporting those affected however they best need it,” the page stated. “100 percent of the funds raised will be used by the Coquette restaurant family to meet the needs of those impacted by this event.”
By 5 p.m., the page had raised over $10,000 toward its $30,000 goal, including a $10,000 anonymous donation.
This story was originally published January 17, 2025 at 11:30 AM.
