The teen accused of killing five people in Raleigh's Hedingham neighborhood will be tried as an adult, Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman said.

After almost a year of speculation, the court moved the case out of juvenile court and released the grand jury indictments for Austin Thompson, the accused shooter who was 15 at the time. 

"Our office committed to the beginning to move this case to Superior Court, to try Mr. Thompson as an adult," Freeman said. "Today marks the first day of our ability to fulfill that commitment."

What You Need To Know

  •  The case against the teenage suspect in the Hedingham mass shooting was moved into Superior Court Wednesday to try Austin Thompson as an adult

  •  Officials could release only very limited information when the case of the Oct. 13, 2022 mass shooting was still in juvenile court

  •  In August, a Wake County grand jury handed down indictments for five counts of murder and other charges

  •  The district attorney said police should charge the suspect's father with one count of storing a firearm in a manner accessible to a minor, a misdemeanor

"This is a process we're at the beginning of in Superior Court. We appreciate the public's patience as this plays out," Freeman said in an interview. "I hope that they know we will do everything we can to make sure that justice is sought in this case, not only for the families in this case who obviously are our priority, but also our community."

A Wake County grand jury returned indictments against Thompson in August for five counts of murder. He's accused of killing Raleigh Police Officer Gabriel Torres, James Roger Thompson, Mary Elizabeth Marshall, Nicole Connors and Susan Karnatz. 

He also faces attempted murder and other charges in connection with injuring Marcille Lynn Gardner and Raleigh Police Officer C. Clark.

On Wednesday, a judge moved the case out of juvenile court, so Thompson can face the charges as an adult, the district attorney said. 

The Wake County district attorney also said the Raleigh Police Department should charge the suspect's father, Alan Thompson, with one count of storing a firearm in a manner accessible to a minor, a misdemeanor.

The shooting spree in the suburban northeast Raleigh neighborhood happened Oct. 13, 2022. It began when the teenager allegedly shot his older brother in their Hedingham home on that Thursday afternoon, according to a report from the Raleigh Police Department.

The first 911 call came in at 5:09 p.m. that day, reporting multiple gunshots. Witnesses said they saw the boy dressed in camoflouge and carrying a shotgun, according to police. 

Police arrived on scene to find a woman shot in a driveway and another on the front porch of the same property, the report states. Torres was in his car about to go to work when he was shot, police said. 

Two more people were shot on a nearby greenway, according to police. After a massive search that shutdown much of that corner of Raleigh, police say they found Austin Thompson in an outbuilding, described as a "barn-like structure" about 2 miles from where the first shots were fired.

Police said Thompson exchanged fire with law enforcement, injuring one officer at about 6:45 p.m. Authorities surrounded the building and ordered Thompson to come out of the building, the report said.

At about 9:35 p.m. a SWAT team entered the building and found the teen injured with one gunshot wound, according to the Raleigh Police Department. Law enforcment said Thompson was taken to a nearby hospital. 

"For our community to heal, we must find justice for the victims and their families. Now we have to respect the legal process," Raleigh Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin said in a statement to Spectrum News 1.

Because of his age, police and the Wake County District Attorney's Office released very limited details about the suspected shooter and his charges for almost a year until his case was moved to adult court Wednesday.