The father of a Raleigh teenager killed in a shooting days earlier is now claiming he saw the people he believes killed his son on doorbell camera footage.

Raleigh police said that around 11:50 a.m. Friday, March 20, officers responded to a shooting on Springshire Court and found a teenage boy, later identified as Cayden Alston-Arnold, with a gunshot wound. 

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His father, Courtney Alston, told WRAL News that when he first heard that his son was shot, he initially believed his son would be okay.

"My sister called me and told that Cayden had been shot. She was like, she thinks he's OK because he told her, 'Auntie, I'm going to be good, I'm good,'" Alston said.

However, when Alston got home, he knew something was wrong.

"From that blood that I've seen everywhere, he was running round the house trying to clean up the blood, like, he panicked," Alston said. "It just hurts. I just can't believe it. I wish I would've been there to help him."

Alston-Arnold was taken to the hospital and he died from his injuries. He was 15 years old.

"They said they were able to sew his heart back up, but it just didn't start beating," Alston said. "I'm hurt, I'm angry [and] I'm sad."

Police said a juvenile was taken into custody after the shooting. While police have not provided any additional details about a suspect or the juvenile in custody, Alston said he believes the juvenile came to the house when his son wasn't expecting them, adding that "they were supposed to be [his] friends."

"He didn't talk to them. I heard them on the Ring camera. They were like, 'Oh, he's probably asleep,'" Alston said. "I really thought they were his friends. I would have never allowed those boys in the house if I would've known they weren't his friends."

Alston told WRAL News his son played basketball and dreamed of being a star in the National Basketball Association (NBA), adding that he was well-cared for and would be missed.

"He liked to play with his cousins and his friend. He was a good kid," Alston said. "I just want this younger generation to understand, guns aren't it. Criminal guns aren't it. Taking somebody's life for something  senseless isn't it."

WRAL News reached out to the Raleigh Police Department on Monday and asked the following questions:

  • Is the juvenile still being detained?
    • Have juvenile petitions been filed?
      • Did the suspect and the victim know each other?