A teenager charged in the 2022 mass shooting that killed five people in a Raleigh, N.C., neighborhood is expected to plead guilty — a move that would send the case directly to sentencing and avoid a trial.
Austin Thompson is expected to plead guilty to all charges tied to the Oct. 13, 2022, shooting in Raleigh’s Hedingham neighborhood on Tuesday, according to Wake County court documents cited by The Raleigh News & Observer, WRAL and WUNC. Thompson was 15 at the time of the attack and is now 18.
The shooting left five people dead and two others injured, including a Raleigh police officer, the outlets reported. Investigators say Thompson first shot and killed his older brother inside the family home, then left with a shotgun and a handgun and opened fire in the neighborhood.
Those killed were Raleigh Police Officer Gabriel Torres, James Roger Thompson, Mary Elizabeth Marshall, Nicole Connors and Susan Karnatz, according to the outlets. Marcille Lynn Gardner and Raleigh Police Officer C. Clark were injured.
In the court filing, Thompson’s attorneys referenced the serious brain injury he suffered, noting he was shot in the head while being apprehended by Raleigh police.
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“Austin was 15 years old when these events occurred,” the plea states, per the News & Observer. “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. He recognizes the deep pain he has caused the victims’ families as well as his own family.”
The filing says Thompson decided to plead guilty after discussions with his attorneys about how a trial would proceed and what it could mean for the community.
“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,” the document states.
Thompson faces five counts of murder, two counts of attempted murder, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, and one count of assault with a firearm on a law enforcement officer, according to court records. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
Thompson’s father, Alan Thompson, pleaded guilty in 2024 to improperly storing a handgun that authorities said was found with his son after the shootings, the Associated Press reported. He received a suspended jail sentence and was placed on probation.
