A court order filed in the civil lawsuit involving the families of the 2022 Hedingham mass shooting requires the city of Raleigh to provide summaries of certain police calls to the neighborhood before the shooting.
Specifically, the city will turn over basic police incident summaries tied to prior activity in the Hedingham neighborhood—but not full investigative files, body camera video or records related to the Oct. 13, 2022, mass shooting.
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In suing the Hedingham Community Association, Capitol Special Police, which provides private security to the neighborhood, and the alleged shooter and his parents, the families of the 2022 mass shooting victims have alleged that those entities should have known that Austin Thompson, then 15, posed a threat to his neighbors and they should have prevented the attack.
The information from the police summaries can only be used for the civil lawsuit and can only be seen by the court, lawyers, experts and others directly involved in the case. Personal details like Social Security numbers, birth dates, financial account numbers and license numbers can be blacked out.
Once the case is over, the records must be returned or destroyed.
Trial for alleged Hedingham mass shooter expected to begin in February
The criminal trial of the alleged shooter, Austin Thompson, is expected to start in February.
Earlier in January, Thompson’s defense team argued for the court to restrict evidence related to searches on his personal devices leading up to the shooting.
That motion cited case documents that allege Thompson's search history indicated interest in mass shootings, weapons, forensics and other similar topics. His defense argues that not only were the alleged searches undated, but they also do not indicate a direct correlation to the shooting.
Thompson's defense says such searched only reflect his personal life and interests, stating that his primary hobby was hunting with his father, playing video games like "Call of Duty" and watching shows like "Criminal Masterminds." It also argued that Thompson grew up and attended school in a setting where mass shootings happen regularly.
If Thompson is convicted of murder, he will not face the death penalty. He was 15 at the time of the shooting, and federal law prohibits capital punishment for people younger than 18 at the time of their crimes.
The Oct. 13, 2022, shooting spree began inside the Thompson family home in the Hedingham community and ended on the nearby Neuse River Greenway. In addition to the murder charge for the death of his brother, 16-year-old James Thompson, Austin Thompson is charged with the murders of an off-duty Raleigh police officer, Gabriel Torres, 29, who was on his way to work when he was shot; Mary Marshall, 34; Nicole Connors, 52, and Susan Karnatz, 49. Another Raleigh police officer, Casey Clark, 33, and Marcille "Lynn" Gardner, a special education teacher, were injured.