Judge sentences teen to life without parole for North Carolina mass shooting that killed 5

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A judge sentenced an 18-year-old who acknowledged killing five people in a North Carolina mass shooting to life in prison without parole Friday, rejecting arguments that he deserved the chance for release decades from now.

Austin David Thompson was 15 during the Oct. 13, 2022, attack that began at his Raleigh home when he shot and repeatedly stabbed his 16-year-old brother, James.

Equipped with firearms and wearing camouflage, Thompson then fatally shot four others — including an off-duty city police officer — in his neighborhood and along a greenway. He was arrested in a shed after a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his head.

Thompson pleaded guilty last month to five counts of first-degree murder and five other counts less than two weeks before his scheduled trial.

Thompson, who did not speak publicly in court, was led away in handcuffs after the sentencing. Family members of the shooting victims cried as the sentence was handed down. Thompson’s attorneys announced plans to appeal the sentence.