Teen Mass Shooter Receives Life Without Parole for North Carolina Rampage
A North Carolina judge has sentenced an 18-year-old mass shooter to life in prison without the possibility of parole for killing five people during a violent rampage in 2022 when he was just 15 years old. Superior Court Judge Paul Ridgeway delivered the definitive sentence on Friday, rejecting defense arguments that the teenager deserved a chance for eventual release decades from now.
Details of the October 2022 Attack
Austin David Thompson was 15 years old during the October 13, 2022, attack that began at his family home in Raleigh's Hedingham subdivision. The violence started when Thompson shot and repeatedly stabbed his 16-year-old brother, James Thompson. Equipped with firearms and wearing camouflage clothing, Thompson then proceeded to fatally shoot four additional victims in his neighborhood and along a nearby greenway trail.
The victims included off-duty Raleigh police officer Gabriel Torres, 29, along with Nicole Connors, 52; Mary Marshall, 34; and Susan Karnatz, 49. Two other individuals were wounded during the shooting spree, including another police officer involved in the subsequent search operation. Thompson was ultimately apprehended in a shed after sustaining a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his head.
Court Proceedings and Sentencing Decision
Thompson pleaded guilty last month to five counts of first-degree murder and five additional charges, just under two weeks before his scheduled trial was set to begin. During the sentencing hearing, Judge Ridgeway had the option to impose a life sentence with potential parole eligibility after a minimum of 25 years, but he ultimately chose the stricter punishment of life without parole.
"It's hard to conceive of a greater display of malice," Judge Ridgeway stated during the proceedings. He emphasized that months of meticulous planning and violent fantasizing by Thompson confirmed that this represented the rare juvenile offender "whose crimes reflect irreparable corruption."
Prosecution Evidence and Defense Arguments
Prosecutors presented compelling evidence during the sentencing hearing, including the previously confidential contents of a handwritten note discovered at Thompson's family residence. The note, bearing Thompson's name and the shooting date, declared: "the reason I did this is because I hate humans they are destroying the planet/earth," and added that he killed his brother James "because he would get in my way."
Prosecutors further highlighted Thompson's extensive internet search history on his electronic devices in the period leading up to the attack. These searches included material related to school shootings, firearms, assaults, and bomb-making instructions, which prosecutors argued demonstrated premeditation and planning.
Defense attorney Deonte' Thomas presented alternative explanations, arguing that Thompson's rampage occurred during a behavioral episode triggered by acne medication that allegedly caused dissociation from reality. A psychiatrist and geneticist testified to support this theory, suggesting the medication combined with a genetic abnormality might have induced an altered mental state.
However, Judge Ridgeway ultimately determined that the evidence did not sufficiently support this conclusion. Wake County assistant prosecutor Patrick Latour reinforced this position, stating: "And the thing that made it change was not some acne medication. It was the defendant's knowing, researched, well thought out, planned, decisive actions."
Victim Impact Statements and Family Testimonies
The sentencing hearing included emotional testimonies from victims' family members. Jasmin Torres, widow of Officer Gabriel Torres and mother of their five-year-old daughter, directly addressed the court, describing Thompson as a "monster" and pleading for a sentence without parole eligibility.
"Not one of us surviving victims, our families, our friends, our community should ever have to worry about a future where his barbaric self is set free," Torres declared during her testimony last week.
Thompson's own parents testified that they could not explain their son's violent actions, describing him as a normal, happy child who performed well academically and displayed no prior warning signs of destructive behavior. His mother, Elise Thompson, expressed profound sorrow to the victims' families: "We both lost our children, one at the hand of the other. We never saw this coming and still cannot make sense of it... I will forever be sorry for the pain that this has caused you."
Thompson's father separately pleaded guilty to improperly storing the handgun that authorities recovered when his son was arrested. He received a suspended sentence and probation for this offense.
Legal Aftermath and Appeal Plans
Thompson, who remained silent throughout the court proceedings, was led away in handcuffs following the sentencing announcement. Family members of the shooting victims wept as the sentence was formally delivered. Defense attorneys have already announced their intention to appeal the life-without-parole sentence, initiating what will likely become extended legal proceedings.
The case has drawn significant attention to juvenile sentencing practices in serious violent crime cases, particularly given Thompson's age at the time of the offenses. Because he was 15 during the attacks, he was not eligible for the death penalty under North Carolina law, making life without parole the most severe available punishment.
