The Raleigh teen accused of killing five people and injuring two others in a mass shooting spree in October 2022 will claim that a prescription medicine contributed to his actions, according to a court filing in his case.
The defense team for Austin Thompson filed notice Wednesday that they would use “diminished capacity” and “voluntary intoxication … of a prescribed medication” when he comes to trial next year.
Thompson, who was 15 at the time of the crimes, will stand trial as an adult on five counts of murder, two counts of attempted murder, two counts of assault with deadly weapon with intent to kill and one count of assault with firearm on law enforcement officer. The death penalty is off the table, however, because federal law prohibits the death penalty for those who are younger than 18 at the time of their crimes.
That trial is scheduled to begin in February, more than three years after the crimes.
The long road to trial has, in part, been a factor of Thompson’s ability to participate in his own defense. His attorneys have used his brain injury — sources told WRAL News that he had a gunshot wound to the head when he was captured — and his long recovery in asking for trial delays.
As recently as last month, his defense team said they were still waiting on mental health reports.
In January, Thompson’s lawyers argued, “While he has since been declared competent to stand trial, he is still a brain-injured adolescent. Further, he is being held an hour from Raleigh. These issues all require additional time and resources from defense counsel and the defense team to ensure Austin is appropriately counseled.”
Tuesday’s filing makes it clear that his mental state before and during the shooting will come up at trial.
Rob Steele, whose fiancée was among the five people that day, said, “The reason this young man committed these heinous atrocities is irrelevant. He committed not one, but five, premeditated murders, and no prescription drug caused him to do that.
“He made a choice to commit evil, and he needs to pay for that choice.”
Daniel Meier, a Durham defense attorney not associated with Thompson’s case, told WRAL News that while a defense of diminished capacity is unlikely to yield a not guilty verdict, it can provide the mitigating factors that could reduce any sentence.
“He’s charged with multiple counts of first-degree murder, and to prove first-degree murder, you have to prove that they had the specific intent to kill and premeditation, deliberation and acting with malice,” Meier said. “This shows that they’re trying to show there was something else going on with this kid at the time. While he may have done these horrible things, he didn’t intend to kill. He certainly didn’t plan it … or he wasn’t acting with malice.
“You can end up with more of either a second degree or a voluntary manslaughter if the jury goes along with it,” Meier said, noting that short of a first-degree murder conviction, Thompson could not be sentenced to life in prison.
Who are the Raleigh mass shooting victims?
On Oct. 13, 2022, police say, Thompson killed first his brother, James Thompson, inside their Hedingham neighborhood home, then fled through the neighborhood to the nearby Neuse River Greenway, shooting another four people along the way.
Friends Nicole Connors, 52, and Marcille “Lynn” Gardner were shot on Sahalee Way. Connors died; Gardner survived but spent weeks in the hospital.
Raleigh police officer, Gabriel Torres, 29, was on his way to work when he was shot outside his home on Osprey Cove Drive.
Mary Marshall, 34, and Susan Karnatz, 49, were shot on the greenway.
Raleigh police officer Casey Clark was injured during the search for the shooter.
Law enforcement officers tracked Thompson to an outbuilding on a property on McConnell Oliver Drive, about six miles from his home, and took him into custody.
According to warrants, the teenager was found in a shed with a shotgun, $772 in cash, multiple pistols, “projectiles,” knives, rifles, rifle magazines, shell casings, ammunition rounds and bullets.
Inside the Thompson home, officers found 11 firearms and 170 boxes of ammunition. Detectives also found what appears to be a confession note signed by Thompson describing the killing of his brother, James Thompson, inside the home.
Alan Thompson, father of Austin and James, was cited for failure to secure a weapon linked to the gun allegedly used in the mass shooting. He pleaded guilty in September 2024 and was sentenced to one year of unsupervised probation.