Raleigh police charged a 23-year-old NC State University student with assault Friday morning after a week-long spree. of rush hour shootings along Interstate 40 and near I-440.

Andrew Thomas Graney of Kentford Court faces charges of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill causing serious injury and discharging a weapon into an occupied dwelling or vehicle.

NC State officials confirmed Friday that Graney is a senior majoring in anthropology. The suspect is being held without bond in the Wake County Jail.

Graney’s arrest came as Raleigh police scrambled to find the gunman who fired into eight cars and four homes, all in southwest Raleigh along Interstate 40, Monday through Thursday.

Police Chief Estella Patterson announced that two “persons of interest” were taken into custody Thursday afternoon, both on Kentford Court in southwest Raleigh. The second person detained was released and not charged, according to police.

Officers early Thursday responded to a single shot fired into a man’s car door on Trailwood Drive Thursday morning, resulting in no injuries but leading residents to fear the victims were being targeted at random.

“We understand that the community is concerned and fear naturally follows in an event of this magnitude,” Patterson said at a news conference.

Two cars shot on Trailwood Drive

The shots fired Thursday happened just before 9 a.m. in the 1500 block of Trailwood, which is about a half-mile from I-40 and near the Gorman Street exit, where one of the earlier shootings took place.

Police later reported a second drive-by shooting on Trailwood Drive and several homes were included in the investigation.

Raleigh Chief Deputy Rico Boyce said Thursday at the Trailwood Drive scene that the department “does not yet have ‘credible information'” that the shooting is related to any others. But Patterson confirmed at Thursday’s press conference that the shootings were related.

“I want to assure the community that we are doing everything we can as the city of Raleigh to keep our citizens safe,” Boyce said.

Shootings on and near I-40 in Raleigh

The first two shootings happened Monday near Cary Towne Boulevard, where a woman was shot in the leg, and later near Buck Jones Road.

Four other cars were shot at Wednesday, the first three on Trinity Road, Avent Ferry Road and Cary Towne Boulevard near I-40, and the last on Jones Franklin Road and Capital Center Drive.

Police list Trailwood Drive as the seventh vehicle shooting this week. They are also investigating a string of shots fired at homes in Raleigh: the 2400 block of Centennial Ridge Way, the 3200 block of Shire Lane and two in the 2000 block of Wolf Tech Lane.

“The Raleigh Police Department continues to investigate these incidents and has focused its resources on identifying the person or persons responsible,” Senior Detective Christopher Gay said in a news release Thursday. “We will continue to work with our federal, state and local law enforcement partners to ensure the safety of those traveling on our streets and highways.”

Police said they believe the weapon used was a handgun.

Timeline of the shootings

Here’s a timeline of the shootings, according to the Raleigh Police Department.

Monday

on I-40 near Cary Towne Blvd. A car was hit with a victim shot in the leg.

on I-40 near Buck Jones Road. No one was injured in the one car that was hit.

Wednesday

on the 2400 block of Centennial Ridge Way. A house was hit with no injuries.

on the 3200 block of Shire Lane. A house was hit and no one was injured.

on I-40 near Trinity Road. A car; no injuries.

on I-40 near Avent Ferry Road. A hit car; no injuries.

on I-40 near Cary Towne Boulevard; A hit vehicle; no injuries.

on Jones Franklin Road near Capital Center Drive. A hit car; no injuries.

on the 2000 block of Wolf Tech Lane. Two houses hit; no injuries.

Thursday

on the 1500 block of Trailwood Drive; two cars hit, no injuries.