{"id":129,"date":"2026-05-12T22:07:15","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T22:07:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=129"},"modified":"2026-05-12T22:07:15","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T22:07:15","slug":"teen-charged-in-raleigh-mall-shooting-wasnt-part-of-initial-fight-attorney-says-he-was-protecting-friend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=129","title":{"rendered":"Teen charged in Raleigh mall shooting wasn\u2019t part of initial fight; attorney says he was protecting friend"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) \u2014 New details emerged in the shooting at the Triangle Town Center mall last month when the teenager accused of opening firing made his first appearance in Wake County court Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=127\">Community Matters: Increasing access to STEM education<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Marcus Stephon Neal III, 18, was arrested on Monday in connection with the April 17 shooting that left three people hurt, according to the Raleigh Police Department.<\/p>\n<p>According to Raleigh police, Neal is charged with three counts of assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury, a felony offense. He is also facing two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, carrying a concealed gun, and discharging a weapon within city limits, all misdemeanors.<\/p>\n<p>Police said they also filed juvenile petitions against three juveniles for misdemeanor rioting and misdemeanor assault.<\/p>\n<p>According to Raleigh police, the three juveniles are suspected of going to the Triangle Town Center on April 17 to attack a 20-year employee. A fight between the juveniles and the employee ensued, leading to the employee drawing a gun.<\/p>\n<p>Neal, who was not involved in the initial fight, also pulled out a gun and opened fire.<\/p>\n<p>The three people who were shot included the 20-year-old employee. All were treated for their injuries.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=125\">NC lawmakers announce state budget deal, after going nearly a year without one<\/a><\/p>\n<p>During Neal\u2019s court appearance on Tuesday, his attorney said Neal was the employee\u2019s friend and was trying to help him. But the judge took issue with this information.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat bond do you think is appropriate for someone who walks into a mall and shoots three people?\u201d the judge asked Neal\u2019s attorney.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe might have a dead person on our hands otherwise,\u201d the attorney replied.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAre you disputing [Neal] produced a firearm and shot multiple people?\u201d the judge asked.<\/p>\n<section>\n<div>\n<h2>MORE FROM CBS 17<\/h2>\n<section>\n<h2>\n<p>\t\tWAKE COUNTY NEWS<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n<div>\n<article>\n<!-- Next line is not the perfect\/ideal way to control hiding the items. Can revisit later. --><\/p>\n<div>\n<h3>\n<p>\t\t\tTeen charged in Raleigh mall shooting denied bond<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<p><span><br \/>\n<span><br \/>\n<svg><\/svg><br \/>\n<\/span><br \/>\n<\/span>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<article>\n<!-- Next line is not the perfect\/ideal way to control hiding the items. Can revisit later. --><\/p>\n<div>\n<h3>\n<p>\t\t\tAutopsy confirms Garner arson, murder-suicide: Documents<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<p><span><br \/>\n<span><br \/>\n<svg><\/svg><br \/>\n<\/span><br \/>\n<\/span>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<article>\n<!-- Next line is not the perfect\/ideal way to control hiding the items. Can revisit later. --><\/p>\n<div>\n<h3>\n<p>\t\t\tWake Co. Habitat for Humanity expands into Franklin Co.<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<p><span><br \/>\n<span><br \/>\n<svg><\/svg><br \/>\n<\/span><br \/>\n<\/span>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p>The judge stated no bond was appropriate because Neal was not involved in the original fight.<\/p>\n<p>Records show Neal is scheduled to return to Wake County court on June 2. If convicted on the felony charges, he could face more than 20 years in prison.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=122\">Mother slams NC Rep. Virginia Foxx for response to 10-year-old son\u2019s essay<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Police said the investigation into the shooting remains ongoing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>New details emerged in the shooting at the Triangle Town Center mall last month when the teenager accused of opening firing made his first appearance in Wake County court Tuesday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":128,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-129","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Teen charged in Raleigh mall shooting wasn\u2019t part of initial fight; attorney says he was protecting friend - Raleigh Moving News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=129\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Teen charged in Raleigh mall shooting wasn\u2019t part of initial fight; 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