Harvey Glenn McLeod

Harvey Glenn McLeod was born around 1950 and lived in North Carolina. Not much is publicly documented about his early life, family background, or psychological profile. By 1972, McLeod was 22 years old and residing in the Raleigh area. Records do not indicate any prior criminal history, public outbursts, or incidents that would have suggested a predisposition to violence.

McLeod was largely unknown to law enforcement or the public prior to the events that unfolded on Memorial Day 1972. His motives remain unclear, as he left behind no note or explanation for the mass shooting he would carry out. The only known action he took in advance of the killings was the legal purchase of a .22 caliber Ruger 10/22 semi-automatic rifle on the day of the attack.

On the afternoon of May 29, 1972, the North Hills Shopping Center in RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA was crowded with Memorial Day shoppers. The shopping mall, located at the intersection of Six Forks Road and Lassiter Mill Road, was one of the busiest commercial centers in the city at the time. That day, U.S. Senator B. Everett Jordan was campaigning at the mall, drawing a modest crowd and increased attention.

At some point during the day, Harvey Glenn McLeod, age 22, arrived at the shopping center armed with a newly purchased .22 caliber Ruger 10/22 semi-automatic rifle. He hid between parked vehicles in the mall’s open-air parking lot and began firing into the crowd without warning. The attack was sudden, methodical, and devastating.

Over the course of several minutes, McLeod killed four individuals and wounded seven others. One of the victims was the press secretary for Senator Jordan, though authorities later ruled out any direct targeting of the senator himself. Chaos erupted in the lot as shoppers screamed and scrambled for cover. Eyewitness accounts described McLeod as calm and silent during the attack, reloading and continuing to shoot from his concealed position.

After firing multiple rounds and inflicting mass casualties, McLeod turned the rifle on himself and died by suicide at the scene. Police and emergency responders arrived shortly thereafter, but the event was already over. The North Hills shooting was, at the time, one of the deadliest mass shootings in North Carolina history.

In the days following the massacre, Raleigh residents mourned the sudden and brutal loss of life in what had previously been considered a safe suburban retail area. The randomness of the attack stunned the public and law enforcement alike. There were no known accomplices, and no suicide note or manifesto was ever found. Investigators determined that McLeod had acted alone and without warning.

While the physical structure of the original North Hills Mall has since been demolished and replaced by a modern mixed-use development, the 1972 shooting remains a dark chapter in Raleigh’s history. The incident is still remembered by long-time residents and is often cited as one of the first mass shootings to occur in a North Carolina shopping center.