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A North Carolina teenager admitted to killing five people, including his older brother and a police officer, in a 2022 mass shooting in the state’s capital, days before he was scheduled to face trial next month.
Austin David Thompson, now 18, pleaded guilty to five counts of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted first-degree murder, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, and one count of assault of an officer with a gun, court records show. The guilty plea came a day after Thompson’s attorneys filed a written notice of intent in Wake County court.
“After lengthy discussions with his attorneys about how a trial would proceed, he has decided he wishes to save the community and the victims from as much additional infliction of trauma as possible,” attorneys Kellie Mannette and Deonte’ Thomas wrote in the notice.
In October 2022, Thompson went on a shooting spree in a residential neighborhood of Raleigh, North Carolina, before opening fire again along a walking trail, authorities said. Five people were killed, and two others were injured in the attack.
Thompson had been scheduled to go to trial for the murders in February. A judge set a sentencing hearing, which is expected to take several days, on Feb. 2, according to court records.
Since Thompson was 15 years old at the time of the shooting, he is not eligible for the death penalty. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole.
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What happened in the 2022 Raleigh shooting?
The hourslong shooting unfolded on Oct. 13, 2022, in a residential area northeast of downtown Raleigh, according to authorities. The shooting began at around 5 p.m. local time near the Neuse River Greenway Trail, a trail that runs through part of the city.
Thompson first fatally shot and stabbed his brother in their home before shooting four other people on the streets of Raleigh’s Hedingham neighborhood, authorities said. He then fled toward a nearby walking trail, where he shot at two more people.
Thompson eluded law enforcement for hours — setting off a manhunt across a crime scene that stretched for 2 miles — before he was cornered in a shed, according to authorities. After a standoff, authorities said Thompson was taken into custody with what appeared to be a self-inflicted shot to the head and was in critical condition.
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“While the serious brain injury he suffered has made it such that Austin cannot explain why he committed this shooting, he has always accepted that he did this,” Thompson’s attorneys wrote in his notice of intent. “He recognizes the deep pain he has caused the victims’ families as well as his own family.”
The victims killed were identified as Thompson’s brother, James Roger Thompson, 16; Raleigh police Officer Gabriel Torres, 29; Nicole Connors, 52; Mary Marshall, 34; and Susan Karnatz, 49. Torres was heading to work when the shooting occurred, authorities said.
Two people were injured, including another police officer and a 59-year-old woman, according to authorities.
In 2024, Thompson’s father pleaded guilty to improperly storing a handgun that authorities said Thompson used in the shootings, CBS 17 and ABC 11 reported at the time. He received a suspended sentence and probation.
Contributing: Jeanine Santucci and Claire Thornton, USA TODAY
