At about 2:30 a.m., the Raleigh Police Department responded to a report of a person shot at North Hills Apartments near Crabtree Valley Mall.
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When officers arrived, they found the teen's body. Because of her age, police will not release her identity.
An advocate for the girl's family said she and others tried more than once before today to intervene and get the teen girl some help.
"She was a caring and a loving, scared child," advocate Kimberly Muktarian said. "And, she had to face situations that most children at 13, or her age, would not have to face in a normal situation."
The girl did not live at North Hills Apartments. It's unclear why she was there.
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"I think the City of Raleigh is in denial that we do have a crisis and that crisis is poverty and systematic poverty," Muktarian said. "What are the real solutions to address the issue? You can't arrest it away and you cannot, you know, make convictions of poverty. You have to address it from the root."
The police investigation into what happened is still ongoing.
Editor's note: Police initially identified the girl as being 14 years old. Police have since issued a correction. The article now reflects that she was 13 years old.