A 15-year-old is in critical condition after being shot Monday near Moore Square Magnet Middle School, which sits in an area of downtown Raleigh where crime has been noticeably increasing, especially in the past year.
The school went into code red lockdown around 2:52 p.m. and went into code green around 2:59 p.m.
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Police arrested 22-year-old Steven Mark Stanley and charged him with assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury and possession of a firearm by a felon in connection to the shooting. Stanley was given a $1 million bond.
While Wake County schools say the shooting did not happen on campus, extra security and counseling services will be available at the school on Tuesday. Raleigh City Council members are also expected to meet at the Department of Public Safety meeting and hear from people around the city on their concerns over safety in the area.
'It feels very unsafe:' Crime has spiked 51% in the past year
The area near the school has seen an uptick in violent crime, especially around Moore Square. WRAL DataTrackers investigated police reports within Moore Square and the eight blocks surrounding it – and found crime has gone up 51% since last year and up 74% from the same period in 2019 before COVID.
Several months ago, Raleigh leaders shared plans to hire private security to help patrol high crime areas of downtown, including Moore Square, which has seen an increase in violent crime and drug crimes. Earlier in October, a man was stabbed near the Moore Square bus station and in June, a woman's car had it's window shot out while she and her two children were in the car.
The shooting comes less than a week after Raleigh Police Chief Estella Patterson released crime statistics in Raleigh for the third quarter of 2023. Of those stats, aggravated assaults with a firearm were up from 99 this time in 2022 to 139 in the third quarter of 2023.
People who live nearby are also noticing the trend, and are feeling anxious about having to be hyper aware of potential danger even in the middle of the day.
"Having a child myself, it feels very unsafe," said Melissa Motola, who lives near Moore Square Magnet Middle School. "To think about how we have to be careful at 2:30 p.m. It's one thing about 10 o'clock at night, but at 2:30 in the afternoon? In broad daylight?
People living in the area said it's unsettling having this type of violence happen so close to home.
Safety improvements for downtown Raleigh
While Raleigh leaders are expected to listen to people's concerns over safety and crime in the area on Tuesday, the Chamber of Commerce has also shared some upcoming safety improvements.
Earlier in October, the Downtown Raleigh Alliance had a meeting with the Raleigh Police Department and shared news on some upcoming changes.
Raleigh plans to begin offering drop-in 'Day Shelters' starting in November, where persons experiencing homelessness will be able to find shelter during daylight hours.
"Currently, Raleigh only has shelters at night, so those who aren’t actively working with social services often have nowhere to go except public spaces," reads the Raleigh Chamber's website. "This will give those individuals somewhere to go and provide another potential point of contact for government and nonprofit organizations to interact with them."
The Downtown Raleigh Alliance will also be contracting with a private security firm to provide additional personnel who will work with Raleigh police to provide additional oversight of public spaces. These unarmed security persons will begin running on October 31 and will continue through June 30, operating from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week.