NC State student arrested for string of random highway shootings in Raleigh: Police

A North Carolina State student has been arrested for a string of apparently random shootings at cars on multiple highways in Raleigh.

Since Monday, police have received 12 reports of shots being fired at vehicles and buildings in the vicinity of Interstates 40 and 440, according to Raleigh Police Chief Estella Patterson.

“At this time, we do believe that the 12 incidents are related,” Patterson said at a press briefing Thursday.

Andrew Thomas Graney, 23, has been charged with one count of assault with a dangerous weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury and 11 counts of firing a weapon into an occupied vehicle or dwelling, police said. Graney is a senior at NC State, majoring in anthropology and has been enrolled since fall 2019, the school confirmed to Raleigh ABC station WTVD.

A second person was taken into custody alongside Graney at a residence in Raleigh on Thursday but has since been released without charges, police said.

A judge ordered Graney held without bond during his initial court appearance Friday afternoon.

"This is one of those cases that put fear in the heart of the entire community," Judge Debra Sasser said.

Stacy Newton, an assistant district attorney with the Wake County District Attorney's Office, said during the hearing that the suspect fired into seven vehicles and three occupied residences.

Investigators had linked Graney to the shootings through his cellphone and vehicle, according to the prosecutor. His cellphone was in each of the locations over the four-day period, and his vehicle matched the description of one used in several of the incidents, she said.

Police recovered .45-caliber shell casings at many if not all of the shootings, and a .45-caliber firearm was recovered from inside the suspect's vehicle, she said.

A motive remains under investigation, Newton said.

"This was an absolutely senseless and random series of acts of violence that really put this community on edge," Newton said while requesting no bond in the case.

Graney appeared virtually during the hearing and asked to have a public defender appointed.

Police had urged drivers in the Raleigh area to remain vigilant following reports of vehicles being fired into during the early morning hours on I-40.

In one incident, on Monday, a woman was shot in the leg while driving, suffering a non-life-threatening injury, police said.

Patterson said it is unclear at this time if shots were being fired from a vehicle or on foot.

Police previously said they believed a handgun was used in the shootings.

The shootings remain under investigation. Patterson urged anyone with surveillance or dashcam footage to come forward.