Sharon Kaivani was at a friend’s house when she received a call from her mother. Hours later, the worst was confirmed: Kaivani’s sister, Susan “Sue” Karnatz, was one of the five victims shot and killed in a Thursday afternoon shooting spree in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Authorities identified Raleigh police officer Gabriel Torres and Nicole Conners, Mary Marshall and James Thompson as the four other victims. Two others were injured.
“When we looked at the news reports, that location was the exact spot that they were reporting the shooter was on the news,” said Kaivani, who lives in Decatur. “After a period of time when we didn’t hear back from her, we started to fear the worst.”
Police said a 15-year-old, who has not been publicly named, fatally shot two people around 5 p.m. in a neighborhood northeast of downtown Raleigh before going to the Neuse River Greenway. There, the shooter killed three more people, including Karnatz, and injured two others, police said.
The shooter evaded arrest for hours before he was cornered at a home and arrested, the Associated Press reported.
Karnatz’s husband, Tom Karnatz, spoke to the police and broke the news to Kaivani and the rest of the family that his wife had been one of the victims.
“She was a very loving wife and amazing mother to our three sons,” he told the AP through tears when he answered the door at the family’s home Friday. “We’re absolutely heartbroken and miss her dearly.”
Kaivani feels numb and shock.
“It’s still sinking in and the shock that comes with such a blow like that, it’s protecting us to some degree, but I know that’s eventually going to wear off,” Kaivani told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Friday. “I think we all kind of feel the same, just deeply sad and sorrowful.”
Kaivani said her sister was an avid runner, who ran the Boston Marathon multiple times and would frequent the Neuse River Greenway near her home. Karnatz would often send pictures of the wildlife she encountered while running on the trail.
Credit: Photo provided by family of Susan Karnatz
Credit: Photo provided by family of Susan Karnatz
She said Karnatz was a loving mother who homeschooled her three children. She loved to learn and read and convinced her sister her to begin learning Finnish due to their Finnish heritage.
“She really loved her family. She couldn’t wait to have kids. Growing up, she always wanted kids,” Kaivani said.
The two communicated, at least through text, every day. Kaivani said she would always reach out to Karnatz whenever something sad happened in her life.
“I think about her all the time,” Kaivani said. “She’ll be on my mind always.”
Karnatz was born in Raleigh, where her parents still live. Kaivani expects to head there in coming days.
Kaivani said her family, Karnatz’ family and their parents would always vacation for the month of July at Douglas Lake in northern Michigan. They are already planning to honor her sister’s memory next July.
“We plan to do something to show tribute to her there in a more formal way,” she said. “I’ll remember her every day.”
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