'This was just another day': Nearby workers react to Raleigh hotel shooting
A man was shot in the head overnight while standing inside a Raleigh hotel.
Officers with the Raleigh Police Department responded around 1:15 a.m. Wednesday to the Quality Inn, located at 4716 New Bern Ave.
Police said the man was taken to the hospital in critical condition after someone fired shots at the hotel from outside. The man was inside the hotel when he was struck.
It was not clear if the man was targeted or if he was just a bystander.
The area outside the hotel was covered in yellow tape with evidence markers scattered throughout.
FBI investigators were at the scene.
The investigation is ongoing. A suspect is not in custody.
The WRAL Data Trackers looked through looked through 911 calls for service to near the intersection of New Bern Avenue and Corporation Parkway, which is near the hotel. There were about 400 emergency calls in April, and 94 of them were for Quality Inn. The calls ranged from things like shots fired, abuse, suspicious vehicles and drugs.
WRAL News asked gas station customer Joseph Jannik if he was surprised about the location of Wednesday's shooting.
"[I'm] no more suprised than hearing about any other random shooting around town that hppens in any other city," Jannik said.
Nearby U-Haul employee Jonathan Mills said he was not surprised about the shooting.
"This was just another day," Mills said.
Mills said he's noticed the frequency in which police are called to the Quality Inn.
"It's at least a weekly occurrence, if not a daily occurrence, that there's at least a unit or an ambulance at this establishment," Mills said.
Earlier this year, WRAL News found the intersection of New Bern Avenue and Sunnybrook Road -- just 2 miles southwest of Wednesday’s shooting -- had more violent crime than any other location in the city.
In April, after a teen was shot outside a convenience store at New Bern Avenue and Raleigh Boulevard, WRAL News found that block had more than 80 incidents since the start of 2020.
