Neighbors remember man killed in triple shooting at North Hills

Akilah Davis Image
Sunday, January 19, 2025
Suspect in North Hills shooting dies from injuries: police
"It breaks my heart to think that it happened in our neighborhood."

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- (UPDATE): Raleigh Police Department said Sunday morning, that the suspect in the shooting, George Colom Jr., has died from his injuries. Additional information will be released later.

Below is a previous report.

When 79-year-old Mary Tullock first heard of the North Hills shooting, she didn't realize it would hit this close to home. Jonathan Schaffer was shot and killed moments before Coquette Brasserie opened its doors for lunch. He was her neighbor.

"It just tears me up to know it happened to him. It breaks my heart to think that it happened in our neighborhood," said Tullock. "I just don't know about the world anymore."

According to RPD, the shooting happened at 10:57 a.m. on Friday inside the Coquette restaurant at 4351 The Circle at North Hills Street. When officers responded, they found three men with gunshot wounds. Police said 26-year-old Jonathan Mark Schaffer died from his injuries. 24-year-old Jonathan Aguilar Vega was treated for non-life-threatening injuries and was later released from the hospital.

"It breaks my heart to think that it happened in our neighborhood"

Neighbors said they saw Schaffer often.

"He was a nice neighbor. He walked his dog. It's really unfortunate to hear and the neighborhood will miss him," said Alex Hyler.

She remembers when Schaffer's dog had gotten out.

"I brought the dog back over at like 7:30 in the morning before work. I had woken him up. He was a really nice guy and was very appreciative that I brought the dog back. So yeah, that's really sad to hear," Hyler said.

The sadness was seen and felt in North Hills as a heavy police presence remained on Saturday night. People passing by Coquette stopped to read handwritten tributes to Schaffer.

One employee wrote he was not only their assistant manager but also a friend.

On Saturday, the family of the shooting suspect, George Colom, told ABC11 he would not survive his injuries, and that he was taken off of life support.

"My family is saddened by the loss of Mr Schaffer and we grieve for his family. We also share the pain with Mr. Aguilar. We are focused on our own son right now and want our privacy respected during this time. My son will soon pass away and we just want to bury our son in peace," Colom's father told ABC11.

A preliminary investigation revealed that the three men knew each other, Raleigh police say.

The shooting remains under investigation.

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