"An 18-year-old plans to plead guilty to a 2022 mass shooting in North Carolina that left five people dead including his older brother avoiding a trial in February, his attorneys have said. A written notice filed in Wake county court by the lawyers for Austin Thompson said their client intends to plead guilty to all charges against him. Thompson was 15 when authorities believe he went on a killing rampage in October 2022, beginning in his Raleigh neighborhood with his 16-year-old brother."
"Prosecutors had not revealed a potential motive for the shootings but in a court filing said they had intended to prove Thompson's actions, among other factors, were especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel and that he attempted to avoid custody. Tuesday's filing by Thompson's attorneys said that while the serious brain injury he suffered has made it such that Austin cannot explain why he committed this shooting, he has always accepted that he did this."
Austin Thompson, now 18, intends to plead guilty to all charges in a 2022 Raleigh mass shooting that killed five people, including his older brother. He was 15 at the time and allegedly began the rampage with his 16-year-old brother. Attorneys filed notice in Wake County court and said the plea seeks to spare the community and victims additional trauma. Thompson's proceedings were delayed as he recovered from a prosecutor-concluded self-inflicted gunshot wound that attorneys say caused a serious brain injury. Prosecutors intended to show the crimes were especially heinous and that Thompson attempted to avoid custody. He faces multiple adult charges and is ineligible for the death penalty because of his age at the time; sentencing will follow any plea.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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