NC teen pleads guilty in 2022 rampage that killed five, awaiting sentencing

Austin Thompson, now 18, pleaded guilty Jan. 21 to five counts including first-degree murder, attempted murder, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon and assault on a law enforcement officer for a 2022 Raleigh rampage that killed his 16-year-old brother and four neighbors. Prosecutors say the teen, then 15, armed a .22 rifle, shot his brother in the head, stabbed him 57 times, loaded more firearms and ammunition, donned camouflage and a backpack, and then killed Nichole Connors, Lynn Garner (who survived), Gabriel Torres (a Raleigh police officer), Mary Marshall and Susan Karnatz before fleeing and later shooting himself. He pleaded guilty to spare the community further trauma; sentencing is scheduled for Tuesday.