Raleigh, N.C. – A teenager charged with killing five people in a mass shooting in Raleigh’s Hedingham neighborhood in 2022 is expected to plead guilty, a decision that will send the case straight to sentencing and avoid a trial that could further traumatize victims’ families and the community.
According to court records cited by People, Austin Thompson plans to plead guilty to all charges connected to the Oct. 13, 2022, shooting. The filings were also referenced by The Raleigh News & Observer, WRAL, and WUNC. Thompson was 15 years old at the time of the attack and is now 18.
2022 Hedingham Neighborhood Shooting Killed Five
The shooting unfolded on Oct. 13, 2022, in Raleigh’s Hedingham neighborhood, leaving five people dead and two others injured, including a Raleigh police officer. Investigators say Thompson first shot and killed his older brother inside their family home before leaving with a shotgun and a handgun and opening fire in the surrounding neighborhood.
Those killed were Raleigh Police Officer Gabriel Torres, James Roger Thompson, Mary Elizabeth Marshall, Nicole Connors, and Susan Karnatz, according to court records and media reports. Marcille Lynn Gardner and Raleigh Police Officer C. Clark were injured during the attack.
Guilty Plea Will Bypass Trial
By pleading guilty, Thompson will move directly to sentencing, bypassing a jury trial. Wake County court documents indicate that 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. A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled.
PEOPLE reported that attempts to reach Thompson’s attorneys for comment on Tuesday were unsuccessful.
Attorneys Cite Brain Injury and Desire to Spare Families
In court filings, Thompson’s attorneys referenced a serious brain injury he suffered after being shot in the head while being apprehended by Raleigh police following the attack. They said the injury has left him unable to explain why the shooting occurred.
“Austin was 15 years old when these events occurred,” the plea states, according to 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.”
The filing adds that Thompson recognizes the pain inflicted on the victims’ families and his own relatives and chose to plead guilty after discussing how a trial could further impact 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.
Related Case Involving Thompson’s Father
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. According to the Associated Press, he received a suspended jail sentence and was placed on probation.
Sentencing Still Pending
With the guilty plea expected to be entered, the case will now proceed to sentencing, where a judge will determine Thompson’s punishment. Prosecutors have not yet announced what sentence they will seek, and court records show that a sentencing date has not been set.
The Raleigh shooting remains one of the deadliest mass shootings in North Carolina history, and the outcome of the case is expected to bring a measure of legal closure while leaving lasting impacts on the victims’ families and the community.
