Man released on bond after pointing gun at trick-or-treaters in Hedingham neighborhood
The Raleigh Police Department arrested a man Tuesday for pointing a gun at children who were trick-or-treating in a Hedingham neighborhood.
At 7:15 p.m., police responded to a reported assault regarding someone pointing a gun at trick-or-treaters in the 4900 block of Royal Adelaide Way.
Responding officers located the suspect, Daniel Graham, 43, and placed him in custody.
Graham is also accused of smacking a basket of candy out of a child's hand and onto the ground, according to court documents. A warrant noted that witnesses said Graham appeared intoxicated and officers noticed a smell of alcohol from outside the home.
He has been charged with the following:
- Three counts of misdemeanor assault by pointing a gun
- Misdemeanor assault on child under 12
Police say there is no threat to the community. Graham was released on a $20,000 bond.
On Wednesday, WRAL News tried to speak with Graham's wife at the couple's home. She wouldn't comment or say whether Graham was intoxicated.
Neighbor who called 911 reacts to arrest
On Wednesday, WRAL News spoke with the neighbor who called 911. The man did not want to be identified.
"I noticed a couple kids walking away from the house in question," he said. "Two of them were crying."
The neighbor said the kids went back into a car with their father driving. He said Graham was leaning the car door saying, "Keep it moving. Keep it moving."
"He was turned to the side and leaning in the car door door, and in his hand, it was obviously a gun," the neighbor said.
The neighbor said Graham held the gun down by his side.
"It looked like the most inviting house on the street," the neighbor said.
The neighbor said Graham's decision ruined Halloween.
"He was offering the father of the children to come in the house and have a beer with him," he said. "It's odd at best."
The neighbor said it appeared Graham knocked something out of the kids' hands.
"A year and a month and the Hedingham name has to come up again referencing a gun, its disappointing," the neighbor said.
Second Halloween scare in east Raleigh neighborhood
Hedingham, a community along the Neuse River on the east side of Raleigh, was the scene of Raleigh's mass shooting a little more than a year ago.
On Oct. 13, 2022, a teen allegedly opened fire in an east Raleigh neighborhood, killing five, including his own brother and injuring two.
Austin Thompson faces five murder charges in addition to those for attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon and assault on a law enforcement officer.
Among the victims of an Oct. 13, 2022, mass shooting was Thompson's brother, 16-year-old James Thompson.
Others who lost their lives were: an off-duty Raleigh police officer, Gabriel Torres, 29, who was on his way to work when he was shot; Mary Marshall, 34; Nicole Connors, 52, and Susan Karnatz, 49.
Alan Thompson, father of Austin and James, was cited for failure to secure a weapon linked to the gun Austin allegedly used in the mass shooting.
Just days after that mass shooting rocked the community, as children were trick-or-treating, a man roamed the neighborhood in a dark costume, wearing skeleton face paint, with his hands and neck painted black.
Frightened neighbors called police and shared photos on social media.
Neighbor Angel Turner, who captured one of the photos, told WRAL News that the front of the man's costume read "mass shooter's lives matter."
Police investigated the matter and found "His costume and demeanor were insensitive and reprehensible, but not criminal."
