Suspect in Raleigh officer's shooting locked himself in toolshed

Cedric Jamal Kearney, 24, of 541 Rowland St. in Henderson, is charged with attempted murder, assault on a law enforcement officer with a firearm and robbery with a dangerous weapon in connection with a carjacking and the shooting of Officer Charles Ainsworth.

Ainsworth tried to stop someone on Western Boulevard near Schaub Drive at about 8:30 p.m. in connection with the carjacking and was shot nearby on Teakwood Place.

"We just heard pop, pop, pop, pop, pop," said Claribel Roaas, who was watching television with her husband and two children in their nearby home. "We went to the floor because we didn't know what was going on at that time, and we took the kids to the bathroom. We heard the shots very clear."

The southwest Raleigh neighborhood quickly shut down as police searched for the gunman.

"I went out the other end of the street," said Dan Walsh, who lives on nearby Driftwood Drive. "There were a couple state troopers there, and they had me open up the car, took a look inside, opened up the hatch, looked in the back to make sure there wasn't anybody in there. Then they let me go without any problem."

Around midnight, police were called to 3950 Wendy Lane, about a half-mile away, where the homeowner said he heard scuffling inside the storage shed in his carport.

Police evacuated the neighborhood as they surrounded the shed and set off two flash-bangs before arresting Kearney.

"I had seen SWAT officers with some big machine guns," said David Bennett, who lives next door. "It was just two extremely loud bangs, and it shook the house a little, so you knew something crazy was going on outside."

The shed has a door latch that can only be opened from the outside, so Kearney had gotten trapped inside.

"After speaking with my neighbor, he had seen tools coming out of the little cracks in the door to try and release the latch," Bennett said. "I guess it was unsuccessful as this is where they found him."

Area residents said they were relieved knowing the shooting suspect is off the street, but that is tempered by sadness knowing Ainsworth remains in the hospital.

"We sorry about that. We keep praying," Roaas said.

"I'm hoping that [he] pulls through and is OK," Walsh said.