Austin Thompson, Raleigh, North Carolina id as teen gunman who shot dead 5 during rampage, including older brother, James and 4 others as officials seek out motive to ‘baby faced killer’.
Another day, another long sigh, another mass shooting, another senseless day for killing in America…
A teen gunman who went on a shooting spree on Thursday in Raleigh, North Carolina, killing a total of five, including his older brother, three women and a police officer has been identified as 15 year old local boy Austin Thompson.
Thompson opened gunfire just after 5.30pm in the quiet suburban neighborhood where he lived, shooting dead his older brother James Robert Thompson, 16, a junior at Knightdale High School. He then killed off-duty cop Gabriel Torres, 49-year-old Susan Karnatz, 52-year-old Nicole Connors and 35-year-old Mary Marshall.
The teen, a sophomore at the same school his brother attended, also shot two others – Marcille Gardner and officer Casey Clark. They both survived, although Gardner remains in hospital in critical condition.
The blood letting only ended after the teen was ‘contained’ later that evening by pursuing police and taken into hospital suffering gunshot wounds.
No known motive
It remains unclear why Austin carried out the murders, and whether he was injured trying to kill himself or if it was the result of a gunfight with the police.
Witnesses say he ‘looked like a baby’ and was carrying a ‘long rifle’ in the shootings. His family have not yet spoken out. His killing spree prompted President Biden to yet again renew his calls for a ban on assault weapons.
‘Enough. We’ve grieved and prayed with too many families who have had to bear the terrible burden of these mass shootings.
‘We must pass an assault weapons ban. The American people support this commonsense action to get weapons of war off our streets,’ he said.
Posted, Marshall’s partner Robert Steele on social media: ‘The love of my life was killed last night by a cowardly individual. She was shot while walking our dog.
‘I don’t know what to say. I don’t know what to do. My world has been completely destroyed.’
Posted, Karnatz’s husband, Tom, on Facebook: ‘We had big plans together.
‘We had plans together…’
‘And we had little plans together. We had plans together for big adventures And plans together for the mundane days in between.
‘We had plans together with the boys. And we had plans together as empty nesters. We had plans together for growing old. Always together. Now those plans are laid to waste.
‘We have big memories together. And we have little memories together. We have memories together of joyous occasions. And memories together of plain times in between.
‘We have memories together from before the boys. And memories, many memories together with the boys. Always and for ever, memories together.’
Police to date had yet to say what motivated the teen gunman, and whether he knew his victims beyond his older brother.
Eye witnesses told WRAL that they saw the gunman dressed in camouflage clothing with a backpack and black boots, crouching down, and appearing as a young teen boy.
‘He looked like a baby. This is not OK.’
‘He looked like a baby. I just don’t even have the words to explain. This is not OK,’ one witness told WRAL.
The shootings happened in the street. The gunman then fled towards the trail, where he shot some of the victims, before retreating to a barn.
North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper said: ‘Tonight, terror has reached our doorstep. The nightmare of every community has come to Raleigh.’
A local resident named Robert said: ‘I heard two gunshots, and they were really loud so I knew something was close by, and then I heard three other gunshots.
‘I saw him basically pass my house in the backyard. He had a long-barrel shotgun. He was dressed in camo. He had a full backpack on that was also camouflage.’
The quiet neighborhood is populated with single-family homes and golf courses.
Mary-Ann Baldwin, the mayor of Raleigh, said the suspect was ‘contained’, but police would not say whether they could communicate with him and his condition is not clear.
ABC11 reported that there was a standoff, with the suspect barricaded in a barn.
A drone was sent into the barn to try and negotiate with the suspect, but the drone malfunctioned, the station said. The suspect was detained by the police after 9:30 p.m. Thursday following an intense, hours-long manhunt.
Very near my hometown: Excellent coverage on yesterday’s terrifying mass shooting in Raleigh, NC by 15-yr-old Austin Thompson who also killed his 16 yr old brother. https://t.co/MZ4ojKVkzP
— Feisty🔥Feminista (@FeistyFeminista) October 14, 2022
Unusual behavior…
The boy remained hospitalized in critical condition Friday, police said.
Neighbors said he lived with his father, a handyman in the neighborhood, and would help on odd jobs. Several described unusual behavior from the son.
‘I used to see him at 4:30, 5 in the morning with a bookbag on,’ Lavarius Thompson, a neighbor told the News Observer. ‘Buses don’t run till 7 in the morning.’
The killings according to Police Chief Estella Patterson spanned two miles with the investigation ongoing. Of note, authorities had yet to say what type of weapon the shooter used and how the teen came to acquire the murder weapon.
Thursday’s ‘incident’ marked the 627th mass shooting of 2022 in the United States since the beginning of the year and the 5010th mass shootings since 1/1/2013.
