Hedingham Mass Shooting Victims’ Families, Survivors Sue Accused Shooter, His Parents, Homeowner’s Association, and Private Security Firm

Survivors and family members of victims of the mass shooting in northeastern Raleigh’s Hedingham neighborhood two years ago are suing the accused shooter, his parents, the Hedingham Community Association, and the private security firm Capitol Special Police, according to an October 4 Wake County Superior Court filing.

In a 162-page lawsuit, the plaintiffs allege that the HOA and private security firm failed to intervene to stop 15-year-old Austin Thompson’s rampage through the neighborhood on October 13, 2022, despite warnings that Thompson was dangerous. They further allege that Thompson’s parents negligently allowed their son access to an “arsenal” of unsecured weapons, enabling him to commit the deadly shooting.

The plaintiffs are family members of Hedingham residents Susan Karnatz, Mary Marshall, Nicole Connors-Howard, and Raleigh police officer Gabriel Torres, who Thompson shot and killed that day, as well as Marcille Gardner and another police officer, Casey Clark, who survived the shooting with serious injuries. 

They are requesting compensatory and punitive damages from all defendants and a jury trial.

“This suit seeks to hold everyone accountable who had the power to prevent this tragedy and failed to act,” the plaintiffs’ attorney, Robert Jessup, said in a statement.

“The complaint details how Thompson, a known threat in the community, was allowed to roam freely with weapons, leading to the deaths of five individuals and serious injury to others. Despite the clear signs of escalating violence and danger, those responsible for the safety and security of the neighborhood did nothing to stop this tragedy from occurring.”

The lawsuit alleges that in the years and months leading up to the mass shooting, residents complained to the HOA about worsening crime in Hedingham, including break-ins and shootings. The complaint includes as evidence a list of 3,832 crime incidents that reportedly took place in the neighborhood’s immediate vicinity between June 2014 and October 13, 2022 and a second exhibit showing crime data from January 1, 2022 up until the day of the mass shooting. Residents specifically complained that the private security company hired to patrol the neighborhood, Capitol Special Police, “never did anything.” 

The suit further alleges that the HOA and Capitol Special Police received multiple complaints about the accused shooter prior to October 2022, including reports that he “had gotten into fights with people in the neighborhood,” “used racial slurs,” “seemed to pick on women especially,” and “talked a lot about getting weapons and bullets.” 

The suit quotes one Hedingham resident who complained to the HOA about the accused shooter just days before the shooting.

“[A] day or two before the Hedingham Shooting, I saw Austin transporting backpacks full of stuff…I thought it was very strange that he was doing that. I remember I alerted the HOA of [his] suspicious behavior, but to my knowledge, the HOA never followed up on it.”

The complaint continues, “It was after the shooting that residents realized the path they had observed [the shooter] take days prior was the start of the path of his spree.”

The lawsuit quotes another Hedingham resident who says the accused shooter had targeted Nicole Connors-Howard, one of the victims, previously: “She was one of the women [he] … picked on before the shooting.” The complaint notes that Connors-Howard was shot at 34 times, more than the other victims were fired on combined.

The suit contains four separate claims of negligence and gross negligence by different defendants. The subject of the first claim is the HOA, as well as H.R.W. Inc., a Raleigh-based property management company that oversees the HOA’s daily operations. 

The second claim names Capitol Special Police and its chief of police, Roy Taylor. The third claim names Nicole Locke, the Capitol Special Police security guard on duty in Hedingham during the shooting. 

The fourth claim is directed at the accused shooters’ parents, Alan and Elise Thomspon.

“Both Defendants Alan and Elise Thompson knew of Austin’s antisocial, racist, aggressive, and violent comments and behaviors. Despite these comments and behaviors, Defendants Alan and Elise Thompson allowed Austin unfettered access to their arsenal of weapons and ammunition,” the suit reads.

Alan Thompson recently pleaded guilty to improperly storing a handgun that matches evidence found near several of the shooting victims. He will serve a year’s unsupervised probation for the misdemeanor charge.

The suit’s fifth and final claim is of assault and battery by the shooter. The plaintiffs say that in addition to killing Karnatz, Marshall, Connors-Howard, and Torres, the accused shooter caused the two survivors, Gardner and Clark, “severe emotional and physical pain and suffering, permanent injury, scarring, disfigurement, and the loss of the normal use of their body parts.”

The accused shooter also killed his brother, 16-year-old James Thompson, on October 13, 2022. James’s death is not mentioned in this complaint.

“We continue to pray for the families of the deceased and injured, and we are committed to fighting for justice to bring an end to the ongoing violence that plagues this community and continues to produce innocent victims,” said Jessup, the plaintiffs’ attorney.

This suit comes in addition to a separate case against the accused shooter brought by Wake District Attorney Lorrin Freeman. In that case, he is charged as an adult with five counts of murder. That trial is scheduled for September 22, 2025.

Read the complaint below.

Chloe Courtney Bohl is a corps member for Report for America. Reach her at [email protected]. Comment on this story at [email protected].