Mass Shootings and Gun Violence

Austin David Thompson pleaded guilty to five counts of first-degree murder, two counts each of attempted first-degree murder and assault with a deadly weapon, and one count of assaulting an officer with a gun for the Oct. 13, 2022 Raleigh rampage that prosecutors say began with the shooting and repeated stabbing of his brother James inside the family home and continued in the Hedingham neighborhood and a nearby greenway, killing neighbors Nicole Connors, Mary Marshall and Susan Karnatz and Officer Gabriel Torres while wounding another neighbor and Officer Casey Clark; officers fired roughly 23 rounds before his arrest. Judge Paul Ridgeway accepted the plea, set a multi-day sentencing hearing for Feb. 2, and prosecutors say there is no plea deal — Thompson, who was a juvenile at the time and thus ineligible for the death penalty, faces the possibility of life without parole while his defense has said a self-inflicted gunshot before arrest caused significant brain damage that delayed proceedings.