Father of accused Raleigh mass shooter, pleads guilty to weapon charge

RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — Alan Thompson, the father of accused Raleigh mass shooter Austin Thompson, has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor of failing to store a firearm in a manner to protect a minor.

Alan, 61, made an emotional appearance in a Wake County courtroom Wednesday morning for his disposition hearing where he was seen crying as a prosecutor read aloud the victims’ names.

Investigators say on October 13, 2022, Alan’s then 15-year-old son Austin used his improperly stored weapon to go on a rampage, killing five people and injuring two others in and around the Hedingham neighborhood.

The judge, who accepted Alan’s guilty plea, called this an “epic tragedy…for the victims, for our community and for the Thompson family.”

As part of the plea agreement, Alan will undergo one year of unsupervised probation. He also faces a suspended sentence of 45 days in jail. That time will not be served unless he violates his probation terms.

As it was presented in court, Alan’s charge stems from a 9 mm handgun used in the shooting and found with Austin in the shed where he was found and brought into custody. The handgun belonged to Alan and he admits that he kept it in a box on his bedside table with a loaded magazine.

The judge, Thompson’s attorney and the prosecutor agreed on Wednesday that Alan has been very cooperative in the investigation.

“Mr. Thompson is a victim as well,” the prosecutor, Assistant DA Luke Bumm, said after details of the case were heard. Those details, shared by Thompson’s attorney, Russell Babb, showed there were no warning signs and no history of mental illness at home, or in any other area of his life.

“Understandably the community is outraged by this,” Babb said.

Alan’s case has been continued multiple times , causing frustration for family and friends of the victims killed.

“We obviously brought the charges in and are pursuing, but it does come secondary to the larger case, which is of course the homicide charges that are pending against Austin Thompson,” Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman previously told CBS 17 .

The hearing on Wednesday also shed light on a timeline of what Alan experienced the day of the mass shooting.

Timeline

As Babb described, Alan was in his car driving home and knew his two boys, Austin and James, were supposed to be home because he and his wife had late afternoon appointments that day. Wanting to check in on them, Alan called James at 4:30 p.m. and got no answer.

Alan then called Austin, who did pick up. He said what followed was a “normal” conversation in which he told Austin he was going to stop by the grocery store.

“Austin seemed totally fine on the phone. Completely normal. Nothing seemed off,” Babb said.

Alan then went to a tire repair shop and that’s where he saw the heavy police response going toward the Hedingham neighborhood, which caused him to call the boys again.

Alan spoke to Austin for about one minute, telling him that he saw cops “flying into the neighborhood” and told him to stay inside with James. Again, Babb said on that call Austin seemed fine and not agitated at all.

“By this point, it was a certainty that James was dead,” Babb pointed out.

Panic set in further after he attempted more calls to Austin, getting no answer. Alan then reached out to a neighbor who told him there was an officer in his driveway. Alan got in his vehicle to head home and called 911 asking for a wellness check.

On arrival, after getting through a massive amount of police vehicles, Alan was not allowed to enter his home as he begged to be able to check on his boys.

It was then that he “learned that James was inside his home dead and Austin was missing,” Babb said. His initial thought was that Austin went after whoever had killed James.

He soon learned Austin “was not chasing the shooter… he was the shooter,” Babb added.

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