Authorities responded Friday afternoon to a shooting at Triangle Town Center, where two people were shot and a large police and emergency response quickly moved in. The extent of the victims’ injuries was not known at the time of the report, and police had not said whether anyone was in custody.
Several ambulances were seen outside the mall, while emergency teams walked inside with medical equipment. Raleigh officers entered the building in tactical gear and with guns, and at least one entrance was blocked off as the response unfolded.
People in the area also received an emergency alert text telling them: “ACTIVE SHOOTER at Triangle Town Center. HIDE. LOCK DOORS. STAY INSIDE until further notice. If outside, AVOID the area.” The alert came as the Wake County Sheriff’s Office and North Carolina State Highway Patrol troopers joined Raleigh police at the scene.
WRAL News learned of the incident around 3:30 p.m., and police were expected to give an update at 4:45 p.m. The mall had already been the site of violence earlier this month, when a shooting there led to a chase and a crash in Wake Forest, leaving Friday’s response with added urgency for anyone nearby.
For now, the immediate question is not whether police were present. They were. The question is whether investigators can say who fired the shots and whether the mall, hit by a second shooting in the same month, can shake the sense that it has become a repeating scene.
