Wake DA says police use of force in Raleigh mass shooting was ‘lawful’
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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 ongoing civil lawsuit.
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Law enforcement’s use of force during the Raleigh mass shooting in October was “lawful” under the circumstances and after evidence shows the 15-year-old suspect fired at officers first, the Wake County district attorney said Monday.
DA Lorrin Freeman released a statement Monday directing the State Bureau of Investigation to end its criminal investigation into officers’ use of force during the three-hour Oct. 13 standoff with Austin Thompson, the suspect. The standoff came after Thompson had shot six people in the Hedingham neighborhood, killing five of them.
Thompson was injured during the standoff, and Freeman revealed for the first time his injury was self-inflicted. Authorities had not previously disclosed how Thompson was wounded or the nature of his injuries.
Freeman said “a thorough review of evidence” doesn’t support that any of the rounds fired by multiple law enforcement officers, including Raleigh police, struck the teen.
A court order was obtained to request Thompson’s medical records, Freeman said. She said more information will be shared if the records reveal a different conclusion, but they do not affect her ruling on the use of force.
“At the time law enforcement responded to the scene of the mass violence incident and began their search for the juvenile subject, they were aware that multiple individuals had been killed and that the assailant was still at large,” Freeman wrote.
Lengthy standoff
After Thompson’s shooting rampage in northeast Raleigh, he barricaded himself in a barn-like structure near McConnell Oliver Drive, about a mile from the Hedingham subdivision. As officers approached the area, he fired from the barn, shooting a Raleigh officer in the knee.
Raleigh police returned fire, shooting at least 23 rounds, according to a five-day report released by the city of Raleigh in October.
However, the total number of rounds fired into the barn by all law enforcement officers present remains unknown.
Freeman told The News & Observer that there were approximately 17 spots in the barn where bullets appeared to have entered from outside.
“I don’t know if we will ever be able to determine exactly how many rounds (were fired),” Freeman told The N&O Tuesday.
After the shootout, officers contained Thompson in the shed and repeatedly ordered him to come out with his hands up and to surrender his weapons, The N&O reported previously.
He ultimately was taken into custody with the use of a tactical robot. The city’s five-day report said Thompson was found with a handgun, a shotgun, ammunition and a hunting knife.
The initial request for the use-of-force criminal investigation by the SBI is standard procedure when law enforcement uses deadly force against someone.
“During efforts to take the juvenile into custody, law enforcement utilized deadly force only in response to deadly force being used,” Freeman said in her statement. “State law provides for the use of deadly force by law enforcement under these circumstances. No further investigation into the use of force is required at this time.”
Raleigh Police Sgt. K.M Smithey and Officer D.M. Garner were placed on administrative paid leave after the shooting, which is standard procedure. Officer Casey Clark, who was shot, has been recovering from his injuries, the Raleigh Police Department said Dec. 1.
Case Status
Freeman said Tuesday she cannot comment on Thompson’s condition or provide further details on the case.
Because Thompson is 15 years old, his case is being handled in the juvenile system. Freeman has begun the process of getting the case elevated to Superior Court where Thompson would be charged as an adult.
This process involves multiple steps, including filing a petition in juvenile court to have the charges elevated — which Freeman said she has done. Once the petition is made, a judge will either hold a probable cause hearing or a grand jury will be convened to determine the next steps.
Even after a judge or grand jury determine the charges should be elevated, the defendant has a 10-day window to appeal the decision.
All of these steps — combined with the complicating factor of Thompson’s injuries — means this case may appear to be moving slowly to the public, Freeman said.
But Freeman told The N&O that her office is moving forward with this case, but is respecting the privacy afforded to juvenile defendants at this time.
If and when the case is formally transferred to Superior Court, Thompson will be tried as an adult, and more information about his status will become publicly available.
This story was originally published December 19, 2022 at 5:29 PM.
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