What happened before the Raleigh courthouse shooting? Records reveal suspect Gwendolyn White was in court with victims
RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — The woman accused of shooting two attorneys outside the Wake County Courthouse on Friday had been in court with them just hours earlier in a long-running legal dispute, according to records.
Raleigh police identified the suspect as 57-year-old Gwendolyn White, who now faces two counts of attempted murder.
ABC11’s I-Team found White attended a hearing Friday morning tied to a civil case she filed against the Rolesville Police Department in 2022. In that lawsuit, she sought body camera footage of an incident she said happened in her home.
A judge dismissed the case in January 2026. Friday’s hearing was scheduled to determine whether it should be reinstated.
Police said White became “belligerent” during the hearing and left the courthouse shortly before the shooting.
Court records identify the victims as attorneys Mary Harris and Jeffrey Whitley. The Town of Rolesville confirmed they represented the town in the civil case involving White. Both are also listed on their law firm’s website, Fox Rothschild.
Investigators said all three were in the same 10th-floor courtroom before the shooting unfolded outside.
Police say White left the courthouse, went to her vehicle, retrieved a handgun, and then approached the two attorneys in an alley, where she shot them. Officers took her into custody at the scene.
The I-Team also found White has filed more than a dozen civil cases since 2022, according to the North Carolina courts database.
How we got here
Investigators say the dispute dates back about five years.
Court records show it began in March 2021, when Rolesville police responded to a verbal altercation between White and two neighbors. Officers determined no crime had occurred. The neighbors later sought a civil no-contact order.
In February 2022, White requested body camera footage from that incident. The recordings were located in April, but court documents say she did not receive them until this year.
White later filed a motion of contempt against the police department over the delay.
In January, a judge ruled the department had to provide the video but was not in contempt. Records show White received the footage two days later.
The following day, she filed another motion seeking a new case related to the release of the recordings.
A hearing was set for 10 a.m. Friday to determine whether that case should be reinstated. Police said White became “belligerent” during that hearing and left shortly before the shooting.
Courts closed early after the incident. The outcome of the hearing was not immediately known.
Social media posts show White had written for years about allegations of elder abuse involving her mother, who died last year.
Ongoing investigation
Authorities have not released a motive and say the investigation is ongoing.
The conditions of the two attorneys have not been made public.
White is also hospitalized, though officials have not said why.
Copyright © 2026 WTVD-TV. All Rights Reserved.
