Solved case · 2022
Also known as 2022 Raleigh mass shooting
Hedingham Golf Course - panoramio (2)Credit: James WillamorCC BY-SA 3.0SourceThe short answer
On October 13, 2022, a 15-year-old shot and killed five people and injured others across the Hedingham neighborhood of Raleigh, North Carolina, before being cornered by police and sustaining a self-inflicted gunshot wound; he later pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life without parole.
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Suggest coverage for 2022 Raleigh shootingsOn the evening of October 13, 2022, a mass shooting occurred in the Hedingham neighborhood of Raleigh, North Carolina, beginning shortly after 5 p.m. near the Neuse River Trail. Five people were killed and three others were injured across four separate crime scenes spanning about two miles.
The perpetrator, 15-year-old Austin David Thompson, a sophomore at Knightdale High School, first killed his brother, James Thompson, at their home, shooting him in the head with a .22 caliber semi-automatic rifle and stabbing him 57 times in the neck. Thompson then went into the street armed with a shotgun, handgun, and hunting knife, fatally shooting Nicole Connors and her dog, and critically wounding Lynn Gardiner, a family friend who was in the driveway of the same house. He then shot and killed Gabriel Torres, an off-duty police officer, on Osprey Drive. Continuing to the nearby Neuse River Trail, Thompson fatally shot Susan Karnatz, who was jogging, and Mary Marshall, who was walking her dog.
A police dog tracked Thompson to a wooded area with two barn-like buildings. When officers arrived around 6:45 p.m., Thompson fired on them, injuring officer Casey Clark; several officers returned fire. After a perimeter was established and Thompson was ordered to surrender, a Selective Enforcement Unit breached the building at 9:34 p.m. and found Thompson with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. He was transported to WakeMed for treatment and survived, later receiving physical rehabilitation and being transferred to the medical unit of a juvenile correctional facility.
Multiple agencies, including the Raleigh Police Department and the ATF, investigated the shootings, with North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper deploying state resources to assist. Thompson was charged on November 11, 2022, and the Wake County District Attorney announced plans to try him as an adult; he made his first court appearance on October 4, 2023, facing five counts of murder, two counts of attempted murder, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, and one count of assault with a firearm on a law enforcement officer. Thompson's father was cited for failing to store his guns securely.
Thompson left a note stating he committed the shootings because he "hate[d] humans" and believed they were "destroying the planet/earth"; this note was not released publicly until a February 5, 2026 court hearing. His trial, originally scheduled for September 2025 and later moved to February 2, 2026, did not proceed after his attorneys filed notice that he would plead guilty to all charges. Thompson pleaded guilty on January 21, 2026, and on February 13, 2026, was sentenced to consecutive terms of life in prison without the possibility of parole. He was transferred to Central Prison in Raleigh to serve his sentence.
Vigils were held in Hedingham on October 15, 2022, and public officials, including President Joe Biden, Governor Cooper, and Raleigh Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin, offered condolences and called for community support and preventive measures.
Shootings begin in the Hedingham neighborhood near the Neuse River Trail; five people and a dog are killed and multiple others injured across four crime scenes.
Police corner the perpetrator in a wooded area; after an exchange of gunfire, officers breach the building at 9:34 p.m. and find him with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
Two commemorative vigils held in Hedingham.
Austin Thompson is charged with the five killings.
Thompson makes his first official court appearance, charged as an adult with five counts of murder and other charges.
Thompson pleads guilty on all counts.
Thompson's note explaining his motive is released to the public during a court hearing.
Thompson is sentenced to consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole.
Victims first. Every legal label is set from public records and court outcomes, not from the prose.
Off-duty police officer fatally shot on Osprey Drive.[3]
Killed at home by the perpetrator, his brother, who shot him in the head and stabbed him.[3]
Critically wounded while visiting a friend's driveway during the shootings.[3]
Fatally shot while walking her dog on the Neuse River Trail.[3]
Fatally shot in the street along with her dog.[3]
Fatally shot while jogging on the Neuse River Trail.[3]
Pleaded guilty on January 21, 2026 to five counts of murder, two counts of attempted murder, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, and one count of assault with a firearm on a law enforcement officer; sentenced February 13, 2026 to consecutive life sentences without parole.[3]
Police officer injured when the perpetrator fired on responding officers.[3]
From the record
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