Man charged in connection with highway shootings in and around North Carolina’s capital

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Police say they have arrested a 23-year-old man suspected of shooting up at least eight vehicles on a busy highway in North Carolina as well as several houses in the area in recent days, in attacks that injured 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 house and later led two people outside in handcuffs. WRAL-TV reports. The other person was later released without charges, police said.

Graney is charged with one count of assault with a dangerous weapon with intent to kill or inflict serious injury and 11 counts of discharging a weapon into an occupied vehicle or dwelling, police said in a news release.

Police have not said whether Graney has an attorney. Relatives of Graney, who remains in custody, did not immediately respond to voicemails or emails seeking comment.

Police have not yet revealed a possible motive.

Graney’s mother, Treka Graney, told WRAL-TV that she had not seen her son for several months and that he had not been raised with guns in the house. “This is not my son,” she said.

“It totally caught me off guard,” she said. “It’s completely out of character. … He’s a sweet boy. Everyone loves him. He always stands up straight, he is very polite. He always follows the rules.”

The shootings, which apparently started on Monday, have fueled fear in the area.

The case gained 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. Subsequently, reports of similar shootings emerged.

Authorities said eight vehicles were affected, including two on Monday, four on Wednesday and two on Thursday. Four homes in the area were shot Wednesday, police said. All the shootings were related, the Raleigh police chief said.

One of the shots struck a woman in the leg early Monday as she drove on I-40, police said. Her injuries were not considered life-threatening. Most of the cars shot down contained only the driver, but one had four occupants, authorities said in court filings. Police said there were also people in the homes when they were shot.

Investigators believe a Llama .45 Max 1 pistol was used in the shooting, 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 US. In September in Kentucky, law enforcement led a massive, multi-day manhunt for a man who shot up 12 vehicles and injured five people on Interstate 75. The the human remains were later found and identified.