RALEIGH, NC (AP) — An 18-year-old man plans to plead guilty in a 2022 mass shooting in North Carolina that left five people dead — including his older brother — to avoid a trial next month, his attorneys said Tuesday.
A written notice filed in Wake County court by Austin Thompson’s attorneys said their client intends to plead guilty to all charges against him.
Thompson was 15 when authorities believe he went on a killing spree on Oct. 13, 2022, that began in his Raleigh neighborhood with his 16-year-old brother. His scheduled February 2 pretrial hearing had been set for Wednesday.
But through the proposed plea, Thompson “has decided that he wishes to spare the community and the victims from as much additional trauma as possible,” attorneys Kellie Mannette and Deonte’ Thomas wrote. The attorneys did not immediately respond to emails Tuesday seeking additional information about the decision.
Thompson’s legal proceedings were delayed in part as he recovered from a gunshot wound that a prosecutor concluded was self-inflicted prior to his arrest. His lawyers said this resulted in a brain injury.
Prosecutors have not disclosed a potential motive for the shootings but said in a court filing that they intended to prove Thompson’s actions, among other factors, were “especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel” and that he tried to avoid custody.
Tuesday’s filing by Thompson’s lawyers said that while “the serious brain injury he suffered made it such that Austin cannot explain why he carried out this shooting, he always accepted that he did it.”
Thompson was charged as an adult on five counts of murder, two counts of attempted murder, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon and one count of assault on an officer with a gun. A sentencing hearing will be held at a later date following any plea.
Because of his age at the time of the attack, Thompson could not receive the death penalty if convicted. The presiding judge will have to decide whether to sentence him on the murder count to life in prison without parole or the possibility of parole after at least 25 years.
Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman said Tuesday that she was aware of the plea announcement. “We are ready to move forward. Our thoughts are with the families of the victims,” Freeman added in a later text message.
Thompson hopes “that the material presented at the sentencing hearing will bring as much peace and closure as possible,” his lawyers wrote.
Prosecutors claim that Thompson shot and stabbed his brother James, whose body was found in their home.
Police also said they believe Thompson then shot several neighbors on the streets of the Hedingham community, killing Raleigh police Officer Gabriel Torres, 29, and Nicole Connors, 52. Another neighbor who was wounded survived.
They also alleged that he later fatally shot two others on the nearby Neuse River Greenway trail: 34-year-old Mary Marshall and 49-year-old Susan Karnatz.
Dressed in camouflage with multiple weapons on his belt, Thompson was located by law enforcement in a nearby shed and arrested after an hours-long standoff that resulted in another police officer being injured.
Thompson’s lawyers had indicated last year that they intended to use “diminished capacity” and “voluntary intoxication … of prescribed medication” in his defense.
In 2024, Thompson’s father pleaded guilty to improperly storing a handgun that authorities said was found with his son after the shootings. He received a suspended sentence and probation.
Investigators seized 11 firearms and 160 boxes of ammunition — some of them empty — from Thompson’s home, according to search warrants.