Around 5 p.m. on Thursday, October 13, 2022, a 15-year-old suspect, who was reported to be armed with a long gun, shot and killed two people on a residential street in Raleigh, NC. Next, he ran to a nearby area, where he killed three more individuals and wounded two more before evading police for several hours.
It wasn’t until after 9:30 p.m. that the young active shooter was taken into custody with undisclosed life-threatening injuries. As of early Friday morning (October 14, 2022), the teen was said to be in critical condition at a local hospital.
No known motive exists for this mass shooting that spanned two miles in length. But what we do know is that one of the people killed was a 29-year-old off-duty police officer who was en route to work. The other four victims ranged in age from 16 to 52, four of which were women and the teenage victim a young boy.
A Disturbing Trend
Data collected by The Violence Project, with the support of the National Institute of Justice, suggests that this active shooter incident is part of a “troubling upward trend.”
Although the project examined mass shootings that occurred between 1966 and 2019—a 53-year time period—one-fifth of the total incidents happened in the last five years studied. Additionally, two of the years with the most mass shootings were 2018 and 2017.
Lives lost in these mass shooting incidents have increased as well. In the 1970s, an average of eight people were killed annually in these types of events. Now that average is 51. This represents more than a 600% increase.
The Time for Active Shooter Survival Training Is Now
If you have not yet had active shooter survival training, the time is now. If this data is any indicator of what to expect in the years ahead, your risk of being in this type of incident is increasing exponentially. At the same time, your risk of survival is decreasing based sheerly on the number of people who are now killed on an annual basis.
A.L.I.V.E. offers Active Shooter Survival Training for North Carolina residents, with courses available both in person and online. Whether you are looking for a course for you, your family, your co-workers, or a small or large group, we can tailor this training to meet your needs.
Don’t wait until you’re a name or number in a news headline. Enroll in A.L.I.V.E. Active Shooter Survival Training today. Enroll now.
Sources: ABC 11, The New York Times, National Institute of Justice