Raleigh teen shot in head, 911 caller says

A teenager who was killed outside a north Raleigh apartment was shot in the head, according to a 911 call released Thursday afternoon.

"Somebody just pulled up and started shooting at him and shot him, and he's gone," a caller told a dispatcher in the four-minute recording. "He's gone. He's shot in the head."

Officers were dispatched around 4:45 p.m. Wednesday to Lexington on the Green apartment complex, in the 3800 block of Rolling Green Court, where they Fernando Garibay-Benitez, 16.

Witnesses said that Benitez was walking with two friends when a silver or gray minivan pulled up and started shooting.

Benitez ran into the woods and later died.

Police said witnesses also told investigators that the same minivan had been cutting people off and nearly causing crashes nearby at the intersection of Rolling Green Court and New Hope Road.

The vehicle was seen traveling through the apartment complex when neighbors heard multiple gunshots.

According to the 911 caller, two men were in the front seat, and the minivan took off toward New Hope Road.

Friends of Benitez said Thursday that they are devastated by his death and are trying to figure out why it happened.

"He had a lot of friends who are destroyed now that he's gone," Nancy Beranza said. "We can't believe it."

Benitez was a rising sophomore at Millbrook High School in Raleigh, according to the Wake County Public School System, and friends said he loved soccer and worked a construction job for extra money.

"We're just trying to find out who did it, because honestly, it's unfair that this happened to him," Beranza said. "He may be lost, but he will never be forgotten."

Investigators haven't released a motive for the shooting or any information about possible suspects.

Anyone with information about the shooting or the minivan is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 919-834-4357.

Crime Stoppers pays cash rewards for anonymous tips that help solve cases.