What we know about the 15-year-old suspect in the Raleigh mass shooting
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Raleigh mass shooting in Hedingham neighborhood
On Oct. 13, 2022, seven people were shot in Raleigh, NC, in the Hedingham neighborhood near the Neuse River Greenway Trail. Five were killed, including a Raleigh police officer. High school student Austin Thompson was charged with their murders. Read The News & Observer’s ongoing coverage of the mass shooting, Thompson’s guilty plea and his sentencing hearing.
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Here’s what we have learned about the suspect in the Oct. 13 mass shooting in Raleigh.
In a released by Raleigh Police Chief Estella Patterson on Oct. 20, police disclosed official details about how the shooting that resulted in seven people shot — five of them dying.
In North Carolina, police prepare “five-day reports” outlining what transpired during a significant crime incident, usually when a police officer shoots someone.
In the five-day report, police said they still do not have a motive for the shooting.
Who is the suspect in the Raleigh shooting?
The suspect in Thursday night’s mass shooting is 15-year-old Austin Thompson, a sophomore at Knightdale High School and the brother of 16-year-old shooting victim James Thompson, sources confirmed for The News & Observer.
Police confirmed that the suspect was seen in the neighborhood on the day of the shooting dressed in camouflage, with a backpack and a shotgun, described by witnesses as a “long gun.”
Austin Thompson is hospitalized in critical condition at WakeMed, where he was taken after being captured the night of the shooting, according to the police department’s report.
Most of the victims had no apparent connection to Thompson other than being in the same Hedingham neighborhood in northeastern Raleigh the night of the Oct. 13 incident, police said in their report.
Where did the suspect live?
Austin Thompson lived on Sahalee Way in the Hedingham neighborhood. The report says he shot two neighbors who lived on his street: Marcille Gardner 59, and Nicole Connors, 52, who were friends.
The suspect also shot Connors’ dog.
Neighbors said Thompson lived with his father, a handyman in the neighborhood, and would help on odd jobs.
Several of them described unusual behavior from the son.
”I used to see him at 4:30, 5 in the morning with a bookbag on,” said Lavarius Thompson, a neighbor, on Oct. 14, the day after the shooting. “Buses don’t run till 7 in the morning.”
Lavarius Thompson, who is unrelated to a victim with the same last name, said he normally works out in his garage, but that wasn’t doing so that night.
”I could have been a victim myself,” he said.
Was the suspect shot?
After the initial shootings, the shooter fled to a nearby “barn-like structure” on McConnell Oliver Road nearly two miles from Hedingham, according to the report.
Officers did not locate the suspect in the barn until 6:42 p.m that night. Thompson exchanged fire with responding law enforcement officers who surrounded the barn, and injured Raleigh police officer Casey Clark.
Raleigh Police fired approximately 23 rounds into the barn. A long standoff followed.
Police then set up a perimeter, and officers ordered the suspect to come out with his hands up.
Officers eventually entered the structure at 9:34 p.m.
“The suspect was located lying on the ground and appeared to be suffering from a single gunshot wound,” the police’s report said.
The nature of his injuries has not been released. Police have not said how he was injured.
What was the motive behind the Raleigh shooting?
Police declined to discuss the motive or circumstances of the shooting, but released a few more details in their five-day report.
“The collective motive for these attacks is still unknown,” Police Chief Estella Patterson stated in the report. “Based on information currently available, there does not appear to be any connection between the victims that were shot by the suspect prior to his encounter with the police other than they lived in the same neighborhood.”
The first victim was a 16-year-old juvenile, unnamed in the police’s report, but who was confirmed as James Thompson. James Thompson was found dead in his home with “an apparent gunshot wound and stab wounds,” police said. The time of his death is not reported.
Who were the Raleigh shooting victims?
Patterson said the gunman shot people in the streets of the Hedingham neighborhood, then fled in the direction of the Neuse River Greenway Trail, where he continued shooting.
The victims were identified as:
- James Thompson, 16
- Gabriel Torres, 29
- Mary Marshall, 34
- Susan Karnatz, 49
- Nicole Connors, 52
Torres, a Raleigh police officer, was on his way to work when he was shot.
Patterson said the crime scene spanned two miles and the investigation is ongoing.
What kind of weapons did the shooter use?
The Raleigh Police Department said the suspect was found with two firearms and a large hunting knife
Upon being apprehended by officers, Thompson said he had a shotgun, a handgun, a hunting knife and ammunition for a rifle and shotgun, police said.
The report states that 911 callers claimed that the shooter was also carrying hand grenades. The report said no other weapons were found.
Josh Shaffer and Anna Johnson contributed to this report.
This story was originally published October 14, 2022 at 11:34 AM.
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