North Carolina
Judge sentences teen to life without parole for fatally shooting 5 in North Carolina
RALEIGH, N.C. — A judge sentenced an 18-year-old who acknowledged killing five people in a North Carolina mass shooting to life in prison without parole Friday, rejecting arguments that he deserved the chance for release decades from now.
Austin David Thompson was 15 during the Oct. 13, 2022, attack that began at his Raleigh home when he shot and repeatedly stabbed his 16-year-old brother, James.
Equipped with firearms and wearing camouflage, Thompson then fatally shot four others — including an off-duty city police officer — in his neighborhood and along a greenway. He was arrested in a shed after a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his head.
Thompson pleaded guilty last month to five counts of first-degree murder and five other counts less than two weeks before his scheduled trial.
Thompson, who did not speak in court, was led away in handcuffs after the sentencing. Family members of the shooting victims cried as the sentence was handed down. Thompson’s attorneys announced plans to appeal the sentence.
Superior Court Judge Paul Ridgeway judge had the option to sentence him to life in prison with the chance for parole after at least 25 years, but Thompson did not face the death penalty given his age at the time of the crimes.
“It’s hard to conceive of a greater display of malice,” Ridgeway said, adding that months of planning and fantasizing by Thompson to carry out the rampage also confirmed that Thompson is the rare juvenile offender “whose crimes reflect irreparable corruption.”
Austin Thompson signs documents pleading guilty to five counts of murder in Wake County Superior Court on Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026, in Raleigh, N.C. Credit: AP/Allen G. Breed
During the sentencing hearing that began last week, prosecutors revealed the previously confidential contents of a handwritten note with Thompson’s name and the shooting date found at his family’s house in the Hedingham subdivision.
The note said the “reason I did this is because I hate humans they are destroying the planet/earth,” adding that he killed James Thompson ”because he would get in my way.”
Thompson “cannot tell you why he wrote that note the way that he did,” defense lawyer Deonte’ Thomas said, noting that he had no history of ecological-based anger. “And he cannot tell you why he ran down the streets of Hedingham terrorizing people that day.”
But “he is not unredeemable, he is not incorrigible,” Thomas added in asking Ridgeway to give him the opportunity one day to tell parole commissioners he could “still be a productive person in society.”
Thomas argued that the rampage happened during a behavioral episode caused by medicine he regularly took for acne which dissociated the youth from reality. A psychiatrist who interviewed Thompson and a geneticist testified to bolster the explanation.
Ridgeway decided the evidence did not support the conclusion that Thompson’s acts happened while he entered an altered mental state induced by the medication and a genetic abnormality.
Prosecutors dismissed the medication argument as weak and highlighted Thompson’s internet search history on his phone and computer leading up to the attack. They said it included school shootings and were related to guns, assaults and bomb-making materials.
Nicole Connors, 52; Raleigh police Officer Gabriel Torres, 29; Mary Marshall, 34; and Susan Karnatz, 49, also were killed in the rampage. Two other people were wounded, including another police officer involved in the search for Thompson.
“In the blink of an eye, everything changed for those people and for the people that they left behind,” Wake County assistant prosecutor Patrick Latour said Thursday while urging a sentence with no potential parole. “And the thing that made it change was not some acne medication. It was the defendant’s knowing, researched, well thought out, planned, decisive actions.”
The judge heard from people like Jasmin Torres, the widow of Gabriel Torres and the mother of their 5-year-old daughter. She asked Ridgeway to sentence Thompson to life without parole, calling him a “monster.”
“Not one of us surviving victims, our families, our friends, our community should ever have to worry about a future where his barbaric self is set free,” Torres said last week.
Thompson’s parents testified they couldn’t explain why their son committed the violence, calling him a normal, happy kid who did well in school and showed no signs of destruction.
Thompson’s father pleaded guilty to improperly storing his handgun that authorities said was found when his son was arrested. He received a suspended sentence and probation.
“We both lost our children, one at the hand of the other. We never saw this coming and still cannot make sense of it,” mother Elise Thompson said last week while telling the families of shooting victims she will “forever be sorry for the pain that this has caused you.”
A girl who was kidnapped from Duarte in 2020 when she was just 5 years old has been found safe in North Carolina.
The Washington County Sheriff’s Office said it found Karen Rojas, who is now 11, on Tuesday. She was enrolled in school under an alias, according to investigators.
Authorities said she was kidnapped on June 2, 2020.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and the Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services notified Washington County law enforcement that she may be in the state.
They coordinated with several agencies, located the girl and took her into protective custody.
“These are very rare occurrences to have such a positive outcome on such an old case as this, but it reminds us that through hard work, and dedication, and cooperation, stories with positive outcomes like these can happen,” the Washington County Sheriff’s Office said in a social media post.
Due to the age of the child, further information was not immediately available.
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Spring Creek Tavern is reopen after a scary experience during Helene
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A new list from WorldAtlas named the publication’s top 10 favorite North Carolina towns of 2026, including several locations located in Western North Carolina.
Founded in 1994 by cartographer John Moen and his wife, Chris Woolwine-Moen, WorldAtlas publishes educational materials and articles on geography, sociology, demography, environment, economics, politics, and travel.
Previous Citizen Times articles have covered numerous mentions of Western North Carolina from WorldAtlas, including “idyllic” and “unpretentious” towns, scenic drives, a favorite downtown area, and more. In the new list, published March 9, WorldAtlas writers chose their all-time favorite North Carolina towns ― almost half of which were located in the western region of the state.
Here’s what WorldAtlas had to say about mountain North Carolina towns, plus the full list and more.
What to do in Banner Elk, N.C.
WorldAtlas noted the range of activities offered in Banner Elk throughout the year. The town sits in the Blue Ridge Mountains between the Sugar Mountain and Beech Mountain ski resorts. Writers highlighted the following locations and activities in Banner Elk:
- Wildcat Lake, which has a lifeguarded white-sand beach and is used for swimming, non-motorized boating and fishing for largemouth bass, trout, and bluegill
- Grandfather Mountain Nature Museum, a museum located at Grandfather Mountain
- The Mile High Swinging Bridge, the highest suspension footbridge in the United States, which visitors can cross on foot
What to do in Blowing Rock, N.C.
Also included on the WorldAtlas list, Blowing Rock takes its name from a rock formation where the wind appears to blow upward. The list highlighted the following locations and activities in Blowing Rock:
- The town’s namesake, “Blowing Rock,” is a rock formation known for views of Johns River Gorge and the surrounding forest
- Fishing, spelunking and rock climbing opportunities in the area
- Moses H. Cone Memorial Park, also known locally as “Cone Park,” which has hiking trails and is located on the Blue Ridge Parkway
- Memorial Park on Main Street, where town events and concerts often take place
What to do in Brevard, N.C.
Brevard, also known as the “Land of Waterfalls,” is home to more than 200 waterfalls located across Transylvania County. WorldAtlas highlighted the following locations and activities in Brevard:
- Museums, trails, rock climbing and the surrounding area’s many waterfalls
- Guided Jeep and hiking tours to view waterfalls throughout Transylvania County
- Veterans History Museum of the Carolinas, a museum displaying artifacts from U.S. military conflicts
- Transylvania Heritage Museum, a museum focused on local history and genealogy
What to do in Hot Springs, N.C.
Hot Springs’ name comes from the natural springs that attract visitors from across the state and region. The springs are commonly visited by hikers seeking relief after traveling along the Appalachian Trail, which runs through the town. WorldAtlas highlighted the following activities and events:
- Kayaking on the French Broad River
- Trailfest, a celebration of hiking typically held in April
- French Broad River Festival, a celebration of the French Broad River held each year on the first weekend of May
- White-water rafting and ziplining opportunities in the area
- Fishing, skiing, sport shooting, golf, disc golf, biking and horseback riding opportunities throughout the area
- A range of accommodations including campgrounds, privately owned cabins, apartments, suites and cottages, with options from basic to luxury experiences
WorldAtlas’s best towns in North Carolina
The full list of WorldAtlas’s favorite North Carolina towns of 2026 included:
- Banner Elk
- Beaufort
- Blowing Rock
- Brevard
- Davidson
- Edenton
- Hot Springs
- Seagrove
- Manteo
- Wrightsville Beach
Iris Seaton is the trending news reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at iseaton@citizentimes.com.
North Carolina
‘It was dire’: NC State professor returns from Qatar after being trapped during Iran war
An North Carolina State University professor is back home Monday night after he was trapped in the Middle East as war with Iran broke out.
Rich Spontak was stuck in Qatar while traveling from Bangkok to Spain and was forced to stay in the country for about a week. Several travelers were trapped for days in the Middle East after Iran’s
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several defense leaders were
killed in joint strikes by the United States and Israel.
Spontak, like many travelers, found himself stranded in the Middle East after the initial attacks, which quickly entangled more surrounding countries, including Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, where seven U.S. service members were killed in retaliatory attacks from Iran.
Spontak said there were times he thought he wouldn’t make it out.
“I would just keep looking out and looking for the missiles,” Spontak said. “Some people that I met along the way were hit by shrapnel from the missles. It was dire.”
Airspace over Iran, Iraq, Bahrain, Kuwait and Syria remained closed, according to flight-tracking service Flightradar24. Azerbaijan also shut the southern sector of its airspace on Thursday after accusing Iran of a drone attack that injured four civilians and damaged an airport building.
Lilia Austin, a Chapel Hill woman who was part of a group of 100 women who went to Israel for a trip the day before Khamenei was killed, also returned home on Sunday after she left Israel through Egypt.
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