The Raleigh Police Department on Monday held a wreath-laying ceremony to honor the memory of Officer Gabriel J. Torres, who was killed in the Hedingham mass shooting.
Torres lost his life on Oct. 13, 2022. He was one of five people killed in the Hedingham shooting.
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The 29-year-old was in his car, about to drive to work, when he was ambushed. His wife, Jasmin Torres, was there in his final moments.
She remembers coming around the corner and hearing the sound of "cracks," only to realize they were gunshots.
"I tried to save you. I wish I could have saved you. I gave my all to try and save you," she said during her eulogy at his funeral. "I hope you heard me when I told you I loved you."
Deputy Chief Rico Boyce spoke at the memorial, saying, "Today we remember Gabe’s mental and physical fortitude, his love for his community and his love for his family."
In attendance at Monday's service was Justin Onofre, a Raleigh officer in the same recruit class as Torres.
Onofre said the small class got to know each other well, adding Torres was the biggest influence among the group, motivating them along the way.
"The whole class uses his motto… 'one more.' That inspires basically a whole new generation of officers with his mentality," Onofre said.
Onofre said Torres' motto helps other officers keep going.
"He was a fearless person," Onofre said. "He wasn't really afraid of anything, even in the academy, he wasn't afraid of doing an extra push up, you know, doing the stuff that happens in the academy. So, I mean, he just inspires me to kind of move past that."
On Monday, the Raleigh Police Department remembered Torres' sacrifice.
"It really shows what potentially could happen in this line of work," Boyce said. "There are many law enforcement officers throughout our country that lost their life and paid the ultimate sacrifice."
The state is now recognizing the murder of Torres as an "in the line of duty death." Torres' death was not initially covered under North Carolina's current death benefit law because he was not yet on duty at the time of his death.
House Bill 363, known as the Gabe Torres Act, expands death benefits for public safety workers who are killed "en route to, engaged in, or returning from duty or training" – closing a loophole that previously prevented the Torres family from receiving those benefits.
The service was held Monday at noon at the Law Enforcement Training Center at 2320 Law Enforcement Drive.
Oct. 13, 2022: Mass shooter kills 5 people in Hedingham neighborhood
In calls to 911 that began around 5 p.m. on Oct. 13, 2022, residents of Raleigh's Hedingham neighborhood described gunshots and screams.
A man named Robert, a Hedingham resident, told WRAL News that he called 911 around 5 p.m.
"I heard two gunshots, and they were really loud so I knew something was close by, and then I heard three other gunshots," he said. "I saw him basically pass my house in the backyard. He had a long-barrel shotgun. He was dressed in camo. He had a full backpack on that was also camouflage."
"I see a white kid running around here with a shot gun," one caller told dispatchers. "He ran back into the woods near the Neuse River."
"We heard some shots outside, and I looked out my window, and there is the neighbor on the ground I think," a caller said.
Another caller, secure inside a home on Osprey Cove Drive, described multiple shots then people screaming.
A third caller identified one of the victims as an off-duty police officer.
"I’ve got one down. One male down. Hispanic. This is bad. He’s an off-duty officer," the caller said. That officer was Gabriel Torres.
Raleigh Chief of Police Estella Patterson said the initial shooting occurred in the streets of the Hedingham neighborhood before the shooter ran onto The Neuse River Greenway, where more people were shot.
Among those killed were:
- Officer Gabe Torres
- James Thompson, the older brother of the alleged shooter
- Nicole Conners, 52
- Mary Marshall, 34
- Susan Karnatz, 49
Conners' husband told WRAL News that he found his wife and her dog, Sami, both dead on their porch.
Police swarmed the area of Osprey Cove Drive in the search and asked residents to stay indoors.
In the search for the suspect, police, sheriff's deputies and state troopers spread out on in neighborhoods along the Neuse, and K-9 officers searched in an area along the woods near the intersection of Tarheel Club Road and Old Milburnie Road.
Part of New Bern Avenue was shut down, and access to and within Hedingham was limited for hours. The exit from eastbound Interstate 540 to Buffaloe Road was also shut down and traffic diverted to the north. Staff and students at nearby Beaver Dam Elementary were locked down, and the Marsh Creek community center and Buffaloe Aquatic Center were both evacuated.
Police searched door-to-door for hours in the Hedingham neighborhood and along the Neuse River trail before containing the teenage suspect around 9:30 p.m. in an area off Old Milburnie Road.
"Tonight, terror has reached our doorstep," said Gov. Roy Cooper, who spoke at a news conference at Raleigh city hall. "The nightmare of every community has come to Raleigh. This is a senseless, horrific and infuriating act of violence that has been committed."
'A case of epic tragedy': Father of Hedingham teen accused in mass shooting sentenced to one year probation
Alan Thompson – the father of the teenager accused in the Hedingham mass shooting in Raleigh and the father of one of the victims killed that day – pleaded guilty in September to misdemeanor storing a firearm in a manner accessible to a minor.
Alan Thompson was in tears as he pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor charge. He was sentenced to one year of unsupervised probation. If probation is violated, Alan Thompson would spend 45 days in jail.
In court on Wednesday, Luke Bumm, the case's prosecutor, said a handgun found in the shed where Austin Thompson was arrested belonged to Alan Thompson. According to Bumm, Alan Thompson told police he kept the 9mm handgun in a box near his nightstand. The box, which was not locked, contained a full magazine.
His son, Austin Thompson, is facing five counts of murder, two counts of attempted murder, two counts of assault with deadly weapon with intent to kill and one count of assault with firearm on law enforcement officer. Five people were killed that day, including Austin's brother.
"This is a case of epic tragedy for victims of this case, our community and for the Thompson family," Judge Mark Stevens said in court.
Victims' families sue accused shooter, his parents and HOA
This month, victims' families filed a lawsuit against the accused shooter, his parents and Hedingham's Homeowners Association.
The lawsuit named the Hedingham Community Association, Capitol Special Police LLC, the accused shooter, Austin Thompson, and his parents, Alan Thompson and Elise Thompson, as defendants.
According to the lawsuit, the victims had filed complaints against Austin Thompson days before the shooting.
The lawsuit claims Thompson caused several problems in the neighborhood before the shooting, including arguments with other residents that included racial slurs, and that Nicole Connors Howard, who was shot 35 times during the shooting, had run-ins with the Thompson family days before the shooting.
A trial for Austin Thompson isn’t expected to begin until September 2025.
Click here to see WRAL's previous coverage of the Hedingham mass shooting.