Judge sentences Austin Thompson to life without parole

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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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The teenager who confessed to killing five people in the east Raleigh neighborhood of Hedingham in 2022 was sentenced in Wake County Friday to five life sentences without the possibility of parole.

Austin Thompson, 15 at the time of the shooting, pleaded guilty to five counts of first-degree murder on Jan. 21. He faced life sentences for each of the five murders plus up to 133 years for the other felonies. Thompson was also sentenced to 13 to 17 years for each of the attempted murders of Lynn Gardner and Casey Clark.

Prosecutors said the Hedingham shooting began after 4 p.m. in Austin Thompson’s house. After Austin and his brother, James Thompson, finished playing video games, Austin grabbed a .22 rifle and shot James in the back of the head. James stumbled to the bathroom before Austin stabbed him 49 times.

Austin Thompson then left his house after 5 p.m., spotting Nicole Connors and Gardner as they were walking their dogs, prosecutors said. Thompson fired five shots, killing Connors and her dog while fracturing Gardner’s face. Thompson then jogged up to Raleigh police officer Gabriel Torres’ car, killing him by shooting through his windshield.

Deputies lead a handcuffed Austin Thompson from the courtroom after the teenager who confessed to killing five people in the east Raleigh neighborhood of Hedingham in 2022 was sentenced to five life sentences without the possibility of parole on Friday in Wake County. Scott Sharpe [email protected]

Thompson then ran onto the greenway and killed bypassers Mary Marshall and Susan Karnatz, prosecutors said. He hunkered down in a shed and got into a shootout with police, shooting officer Casey Clark in the knee with a shotgun. Thompson also suffered a shotgun wound to his forehead — apparently self-inflicted.

Wake County Superior Court Judge Paul C. Ridgeway said the court considered the shooting to be a result of Thompson’s malice, concluding that the five murders were conducted with “utter and callous disregard for human life.” Ridgeway said it was “hard to conceive of a greater display of malice” than the events of Oct. 13, 2022.

Ridgeway said that based on Thompson’s search history — which included searching for infamous mass shooters, school shootings and how to build bombs — Thompson’s actions were not a result of neurodevelopmental differences between that of an adult and a teenager, but of fantasizing about mass shootings for a long time.

Ridgeway said he rejected the defense’s assertion that minocycline, an acne medication, had a side effect of confusion and dissociation on Thompson, saying that side effect is rare.

Wake County Superior Court Judge Paul C. Ridgeway addresses Austin Thompson as he sentences Thompson to five life terms without parole for the 2022 Hedingham mass shooting in east Raleigh that killed five people. Scott Sharpe [email protected]

Tracey Howard, the widow of Connors, said five life sentences for Thompson is “what he deserves.” The sentencing brought closure for now, Howard said, but it “doesn’t bring anyone back.” When asked about if he could forgive Thompson — Gardner testified that she forgave Thompson, The News & Observer reported — Howard felt differently.

“Well, I never heard Austin apologize,” Howard said. “I never heard [or] had ever seen any regrets. So, right now, I can’t forgive him.”

Austin Thompson, center, listens as Wake County Superior Court Judge Paul C. Ridgeway sentences him to five life sentences without the possibility of parole. on Friday. Thompson confessed to killing five people in the east Raleigh neighborhood of Hedingham in 2022. Scott Sharpe [email protected]

Rob Steele, who was engaged to Mary Marshall, said he thought justice had been served, but the sentencing was not closure — only a break.

“Mary’s dead,” Steele said. “There’s no closure to that. That doesn’t change.”

Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman said it was unfortunate that Raleigh had become one of the many communities that have endured an episode of mass violence like the Hedingham shooting.

Though she hoped the verdict would “at least put this part behind us,” Freeman knew it wouldn’t “fix the tremendous loss” the victims’ families suffered. She knew the shooting eroded the community’s sense of security. And she knew the shooting would always stick in the memories of her office and the community.

“We walk this path with them from the moment that something horrific like this happens to the final day of when judgment is rendered in these cases,” Freeman said. “And so there’s no question that it absolutely is something that we will carry with us the rest of our lives.”

Thompson is expected to appeal his sentence. His appeal will be heard by the N.C. Court of Appeals and could take years to conclude, Freeman said.

The five people killed in the Oct. 13, 2022 shooting:

• James Thompson, 16
• Nicole Connors, 52
• Susan Karnatz, 49
• Mary Marshall, 35
• Gabriel Torres, 29

This is a developing story and will be updated.

This story was originally published February 13, 2026 at 10:13 AM.

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Twumasi Duah-Mensah

The News & Observer

Twumasi Duah-Mensah is a Breaking News Reporter for The News & Observer. He began at The N&O as a summer intern on the metro desk. Triangle born and Tar Heel bred, Twumasi has bylines for WUNC, NC Health News and the Center for Innovation and Sustainability in Local Media. Send him tips and good tea places at (919) 283-1187.