Apex shooting: Neighbor's video may give insight into suspect's motive

Investigators on Wednesday are still trying to figure out what prompted a man to shoot and kill two of his neighbors on Monday afternoon.

A person who lives directly behind the suspect, Harry Hardman, took a video of the incident at 2:56 p.m. Monday.

“Kill every MIT graduate,” Hardman can be heard saying in the video. “Kill every West Point graduate.”

Hardman, 37, is charged with two counts of murder and one count of animal cruelty in connection to the shooting in Apex, which killed two women and a dog.

On Tuesday, Apex police identified the victims as Gabrielle Raymond, 37, and Nancy Taylor, 69. Both women were neighbors of Hardman, who is a retired Army captain.

“I’m sorry, but we need to sacrifice for the greater good,” Hardman says in the video.

Hardman’s shouting is what prompted neighbors in the South Walk Townhomes community to call 911.

Taylor and Raymond live within steps of each other, and tried to speak with Hardman.

Apex police were on the way to respond to the disturbance when they got the update that shots had been fired. They found the two women in a front yard.

The resident who shot the video heard Hardman open fire and fire off several gunshots in short succession at 3:05 p.m. Monday.

When police arrived, they surrounded Hardman’s house and saw him walk out the back door carrying an AR-15. When asked, he put the gun down and surrendered.

Neighbors said Hardman, who rented a home in South Walk, may have gotten into a dispute with Taylor about issues in the neighborhood from trash cans to his speeding, something they called a frequent occurrence. Taylor was head ofthe South Walk HOA.

Hardman is due in court on Feb. 5.