Judge Sentences Teen to Life Without Parole for Fatally Shooting 5 in North Carolina

Deputies lead a handcuffed Austin Thompson from the courtroom in Raleigh, N.C., on Feb. 13, 2026, after he was sentenced to five life sentences without the possibility of parole. Scott Sharpe/The News & Observer via AP, Pool

RALEIGH, N.C.—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.