A Marine veteran-turned-police officer and a Navy veteran just weeks away from her wedding were among the victims of a deadly mass shooting last week in Raleigh, North Carolina.
A 15-year-old gunman killed five people and injured several others on the night of Oct. 13 in the northeastern Raleigh neighborhood of Hedingham.
Officer Gabriel Jesús Torres, 29, was off duty and on his way to work when he was killed in the attack. He was reportedly with the department for 18 months and leaves behind a wife and a 2-year-old daughter.
According to his service record, provided to Military Times, Torres served in the Marine Corps from Nov. 2016 to Feb. 2021, reaching the rank of sergeant and working as an electrician in Combat Logistic Battalion 24, 2nd Marine Logistics Group out of Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.
Torres was awarded a Good Conduct Medal, a National Defense Service Medal, a Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, a Humanitarian Service Medal and a Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, his record showed.
A GoFundMe page for his family has raised over $88,000 as of Monday afternoon.
Mary Marshall, a 34-year-old Navy veteran, was also killed in the attack while out walking her dog. Marshall joined the sea service in Aug. 2008 and separated in July 2011 after working as an aviation structural mechanic with Strike Fighter Squadron 192, according to her service record.
Marshall was awarded a National Defense Service Medal, a Navy “E” Ribbon, a Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and a Sea Service Deployment Medal, her record showed.
She also spent time stationed in Japan, her sister told NBC News, adding that following her service, Marshall earned a degree in pastry arts and worked for a small chiropractic office in Raleigh.
The navy veteran was going to be married later this month, according to her fiancé Rob Steele, who started a GoFundMe page to help with funeral and memorial costs. As of Monday afternoon, it has raised over $16,000. Another GoFundMe started by her sister has raised nearly $10,000.
“We mourn and share the loss of not only our officer, but all the victims of this senseless gun crime,” Raleigh police chief Estella D. Patterson said in a press conference the morning after the shooting.
The other victims killed in the attack include Nicole Connors, 52, Susan Karnatz, 49, and 16-year-old James Thompson, the News and Observer reported. Also injured were police officer Casey Joseph Clark, who has since been released from a local hospital, and Marcille Gardner, who remains in stable condition as of Saturday.
“All of us in Raleigh need to come together,” Raleigh Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin said during the press conference. “We need to support those in our community who have suffered a terrible loss.”
The gunman, who has not yet been publicly identified, is expected to be tried as an adult.
Jonathan is a staff writer and editor of the Early Bird Brief newsletter for Military Times. Follow him on Twitter @lehrfeld_media
