Woman charged with attempted murder after 2 attorneys shot in downtown Raleigh
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Raleigh police are investigating a reported shooting near the downtown courthouse.
- The shooting was reported on Fayetteville Street sometime Friday morning.
- Multiple suspects were reported in custody and police said there is no ongoing threat.
A woman accused of shooting two attorneys outside the old Wake County Courthouse in downtown Raleigh on Friday was charged with two counts of attempted murder, court records show.
The attorneys, Mary Harris and Jeffrey Whitley, were involved in a court case on the 10th floor with the suspect, 57-year-old Gwendolyn White.
White allegedly became “belligerent” during the hearing and left the courthouse before returning in her car, walking up to the building and shooting the attorneys around 10:30 a.m., police said.
Their conditions weren’t known Friday night.
White was also taken to a hospital after the shooting, police said but did not explain why.
She is being held without bail in Wake County custody and is set to appear in court Tuesday.
The attorneys work for Fox Rothschild, a national firm with a Raleigh office, and were representing the town of Rolesville in a civil proceeding, according to town spokesperson Kandice Scarberry.
Todd A. Rodriguez, Fox Rothschild’s Firmwide Managing Partner, issued a statement Friday night, offering support to Harris, Whitley and the office’s staff. He said the firm’s leadership team traveled to Raleigh to better monitor the situation.
“First and foremost, our thoughts are with our colleagues and their loved ones,” Rodriguez said in the statement. “We are doing everything possible to support them. We are grateful to the first responders and courthouse personnel who acted quickly to come to their aid.
“We cannot adequately express our deep sadness and concern. The safety and well-being of our people is our highest priority.”
Scarberry wrote in a statement that the firm has represented the Wake County town for “decades.”
“While they are not employees of the town, this incident is deeply disturbing,” Scarberry wrote.
According to court records, a lawsuit White filed in 2022 against the Rolesville Police Department was heard at the courthouse Friday morning.
White was seeking body camera footage after officers responded to a “verbal altercation” in 2021 between White and her neighbors at her home. She maintained police had not provided complete footage of the incident — most of which police said they had deleted per department policy after 30 days — and had filed a motion of contempt in the case, court records show.
White appears to have no criminal convictions in North Carolina. But court records indicate she has filed at least 15 lawsuits since 1997 against various entities, including hospitals, banks and doctors’ offices.
Police Chief Rico Boyce said police had contacted the families of those shot.
“We are thinking about them,” he said. “We will work to get them some answers.”
Courthouse at nexus of downtown Raleigh
The old Wake County Courthouse on Fayetteville Street handles civil cases, while the Wake County Justice Center — directly behind the courthouse on Salisbury Street — oversees criminal matters.
The site of the shooting, in the nexus of downtown, is across from a sushi restaurant, office buildings, local bank branches and apartment buildings. And court was in full swing Friday as proceedings wrapped up ahead of the holiday weekend.
A third party company contracted by the Wake County Sheriff’s Office runs security at the courthouse, according to Wake County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Rosalia Fodera. Deputies search bags and electronics for weapons, and require people entering to go through a metal detector, according to the Wake County website. The courthouse expressly forbids visitors from bringing guns.
Fodera said the office will review Friday’s shooting and evaluate “any and all additional safety and security measures necessary.”
“Our deputies ran towards the gunfire and responded quickly to help apprehend the suspected person responsible and render aid to the victims,” Sheriff Willie Rowe said in a statement. “We ask the community to keep the victims and their loved ones in their thoughts.”
Witnesses heard gunshots, saw police running
Rose Roberts of Clayton was in the courtroom at the time of the shooting because her nephew had a court case.
“The officers all went running out, so we knew something was going on,” she told The News & Observer.
One attorney said she was in the middle of a trial when she heard eight or nine shots from outside.
“It was so loud,” she said. “We were asking, ‘Is that construction? Surely it’s not gunshots.’”
Raleigh is ‘a very safe city,’ Boyce said last month
Boyce spoke at a police advisory board meeting last month after several violent incidents in and near downtown.
Raleigh is “a very safe city,” he said, but added residents’ fears about downtown are legitimate.
The Raleigh city manager has proposed adding 23 police officer positions for $3.8 million in the fiscal year that begins July 1, an effort Boyce has said should help police respond to 911 calls more quickly.
Nathan Collins and Nolan Wilkinson contributed to this report.
This story was originally published May 22, 2026 at 11:09 AM.
