An 18-year-old North Carolina teen, Austin David Thompson, received life without parole on February 13, 2026, for the October 2022 Raleigh mass shooting that killed five, including his brother and an off-duty cop.
Case Overview
Thompson, aged 15 at the time, stabbed and shot his 16-year-old brother James at home, then—armed and in camouflage—killed four others (Nicole Connors, 52; Officer Gabriel Torres, 29; Mary Marshall, 34; Susan Karnatz, 49) along a greenway. He wounded two more before self-inflicting a head wound and hiding in a shed.
Sentencing Details
Superior Court Judge Paul Ridgeway rejected parole eligibility after 25 years, citing months of premeditation (internet searches on shootings, guns, bombs matching the attack) and a note revealing eco-hatred: “I hate humans they are destroying the planet… James would get in my way.” He called it “irreparable corruption.”
Key Arguments
- Defense: Claimed dissociative episode from acne meds; no prior issues; “not unredeemable.” Psychiatrist/geneticist testified.
- Prosecution: Planning trumped meds; premeditated malice destroyed lives “in the blink of an eye.”
- Victims’ families, like Officer Torres’ widow, labeled him a “monster.”
Thompson pleaded guilty last month to five first-degree murders plus other counts, avoiding trial or death penalty (juvenile). Appeal planned. Parents expressed bafflement; father got probation for improper gun storage.
Echoes broader U.S. debates on youth LWOP and gun access. Ties to community safety interests?
