WASHINGTON (AFP) — A shooting Thursday in North Carolina's capital Raleigh left at least five people dead, including an off-duty police officer, officials in the southeast United States city said, adding that a suspect had been captured.

Raleigh Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin said the shooting occurred near the Neuse River Greenway, a popular trail in the area.

"This is a sad and tragic day for the city of Raleigh. Just after 5:00 p.m. today, multiple people were shot," she told a press conference.

The Raleigh Police Department "has confirmed five fatalities. One of them was an off-duty Raleigh police officer."

The shooter, a "white male juvenile," was taken into custody shortly after 9:30 p.m., Raleigh Police Lieutenant Jason Borneo said in a follow-up press conference.

One victim, Borneo said, remained in critical condition.

Also among the wounded was a canine officer who had been taken to the hospital, although Borneo reported that an injured police officer had been released.

North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, who attended the evening press conference, told journalists that: "Tonight terror has reached our doorstep."

"The nightmare of every community has come to Raleigh. This is a senseless, horrific, and infuriating act of violence that has been committed."