RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Police say they arrested a 23-year-old man suspected of shooting at least eight vehicles on a busy North Carolina highway as well as several area homes in recent days, in attacks that wounded a motorist.
Andrew Thomas Graney was arrested Thursday at a home in Raleigh, the state capital. Two dozen law enforcement officers with guns drawn approached the home and later led two people out in handcuffs, WRAL-TV reported. The other person was later released without charge, police said.
Graney is charged with one count of assault with a dangerous weapon with the intent to kill or inflict serious injury and 11 counts of firing a weapon into an occupied vehicle or dwelling, police said in a news release.
Police have not said whether Graney has a lawyer. Relatives of Graney, who remains jailed, didn't immediately respond to voicemails or emails seeking comment.
Police haven’t disclosed a possible motive.
Graney's mother, Treka Graney, told WRAL-TV that she hadn't seen her son for several months and that he was not raised with guns in the home. “This is not my son,” she said.
“It totally took me off guard,” she said. ”It is totally out of character. ... He’s a sweet boy. Everybody loves him. He always stands up straight, he’s very polite. He always follows the rules.”
The shootings, which apparently began Monday, stoked fear in the area.
The case began to get attention after several people reported gunfire on a stretch of Interstate 40 in Raleigh and the suburb of Cary around the Wednesday morning rush, police said. Reports of similar shootings then emerged.
Authorities said eight vehicles were struck, including two on Monday, four on Wednesday and two on Thursday. Four area homes were shot on Wednesday, police said. All of the shootings were connected, Raleigh's police chief said.
One of the shots struck a woman in the leg early Monday while she was traveling on I-40, police said. Her injuries were not considered life-threatening. Most of the cars that were shot contained only the driver, but one had four occupants, authorities said in court records. People were also in the homes when they were shot, police said.
Investigators believe a Llama .45 Max 1 handgun was used in the shootings, court records show.
Graney was ordered to remain in custody. His first court hearing was scheduled for Friday afternoon.
The attacks are just the latest highway shootings in the U.S. In Kentucky in September, law enforcement led a massive, multi-day manhunt for a man who shot 12 vehicles and wounded five people on Interstate 75. The man’s remains were later found and identified.
