RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — An 18-year-old man plans to plead guilty to a 2022 mass shooting in North Carolina that killed five people, including his brother, to avoid a trial next month, his attorney said Tuesday.
Austin Thompson’s attorneys filed a written notice in Wake County Court saying their client intends to plead guilty to all charges against him.
Authorities believe Thompson went on a killing spree with his 16-year-old brother in a Raleigh neighborhood on Oct. 13, 2022, when Thompson was 15. He is scheduled to stand trial on February 2, with a hearing scheduled for Wednesday.
But by anticipating the plea, Thompson “decided that he wanted to save the community and the victims from as much additional trauma as possible,” attorneys Kelly Manette and Deonte Thomas wrote. Lawyers did not immediately respond to an email Tuesday seeking more information about the decision.
Thompson’s legal proceedings have been delayed in part as he recovers from a gunshot wound that prosecutors concluded was a self-inflicted wound before his arrest. His lawyers said this resulted in brain damage.
Prosecutors have not revealed a potential motive for the shooting but said in a court filing that they intend to prove, among other factors, that Thompson’s conduct was “particularly heinous, atrocious or cruel” and that he was trying to evade custody.
Documents filed Tuesday by Thompson’s attorneys said that while “the severe brain injury he suffered left Austin unable to explain why he committed the shooting, he has always admitted that he did so.”
Thompson was charged as an adult with five counts of murder, two counts of attempted murder, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon and one count of assaulting a police officer with a firearm. Following the guilty plea, a sentencing hearing will be held at a later date.
Due to his age at the time of the attack, Thompson will not face the death penalty if convicted. The presiding judge must decide whether to sentence him to life in prison without the possibility of parole for murder, or to sentence him to at least the possibility of parole after 25 years.
Wake County District Attorney Lorraine Freeman said Tuesday she was aware of the plea notice. “We are ready to move forward. Our hearts go out to the families of the victims,” Freeman later added in a text message.
Thompson’s attorney wrote that he hoped “the material presented at the sentencing hearing will bring as much peace and closure as possible.”
Prosecutors claim Thompson shot and stabbed his brother, James, whose body was found in their home.
Police also said they believe Thompson then shot multiple neighbors on the street in the Hedingham neighborhood, killing off-duty Raleigh police officers Gabriel Torres, 29, and Nicole Connors, 52. Another injured neighbor survived.
They also allege he later shot and killed two other people: Mary Marshall, 34, and Susan Karnaz, 49, on the nearby Neuse River Greenway Trail.
Law enforcement officers found Thompson, wearing camouflage fatigues and multiple weapons strapped to his belt, in a nearby shed and arrested him after an hour-long standoff that left another officer injured.
Thompson’s attorneys said last year they planned to use “diminished capacity” and “voluntary intoxication … with prescription drugs” in his defense.
In 2024, Thompson’s father pleaded guilty to improperly storing a handgun that authorities said was found on his son after the shooting. He was sentenced to probation and probation.
According to the search warrant, investigators seized 11 firearms and 160 boxes of ammunition, some of which were empty, from Thompson’s home.
