18-year-old to plead guilty to North Carolina shooting that left 5 dead, lawyers say

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — An 18-year-old plans to plead guilty to a 2022 mass shooting in North Carolina that left five people dead — including his older brother — avoiding a trial next month, his attorneys said Tuesday.

A written notice filed in Wake County court by the lawyers for Austin Thompson said their client intends to plead guilty to all charges against him.

Thompson was 15 when authorities believe he went on a killing rampage on Oct. 13, 2022, beginning in his Raleigh neighborhood with his 16-year-old brother. A hearing ahead of his scheduled Feb. 2 trial had been set for Wednesday.

But through the intended plea, Thompson “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. The attorneys didn’t immediately respond to emails Tuesday seeking additional information on the decision.

Thompson’s legal proceedings were delayed in part as he recovered from a gunshot wound that a prosecutor concluded was self-inflicted before his arrest. His attorneys say it resulted in a brain injury.

Prosecutors had not revealed a potential motive for the shootings but in a court filing said they had intended to prove Thompson’s actions, among other factors, were “especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel” and that he attempted to avoid custody.

Tuesday’s filing by Thompson’s attorneys said that 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 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 of an officer with a gun. A sentencing hearing would be held at a later date after any plea.

Because of his age at the time of the attack, Thompson could not receive the death penalty if convicted. The presiding judge would have to decide whether to sentence him on murder counts to life in prison without parole or with the possibility of parole after at least 25 years.

Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman said Tuesday that she was aware of the plea notice. “We are ready to move forward. Our thoughts are with the families of the victims,” Freeman added in a text message later.

Thompson hopes “that the material presented at the sentencing hearing brings as much peace and closure as possible,” his attorneys wrote.

Prosecutors contend that Thompson shot and stabbed his brother James, whose body was found in their home.

Police also said they believed Thompson then shot multiple neighbors on the Hedingham community’s streets, killing off-duty 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: Mary Marshall, 34, and Susan Karnatz, 49.

Dressed in camouflage with multiple weapons strapped to his belt, Thompson was located by law enforcement in a shed nearby and arrested after an hourslong standoff that resulted in another police officer being wounded.

Thompson’s attorneys had indicated last year that they intended to use “diminished capacity” and “voluntary intoxication … of a 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 the Thompson home, according to search warrants.