RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The father of a teenager accused in a 2022 mass shooting in North Carolina’s capital city that left five people dead pleaded guilty Wednesday to storing improperly a handgun that authorities said was found with his son after the shootings.
Alan Thompson, 61, appeared to cry as he entered the plea to the misdemeanor charge in Wake County court, news outlets reported. District Court Judge Mark Stevens, who gave him a 45-day suspended jail sentence and a year of unsupervised probation, called the matter “a case of epic tragedy.”
Thompson’s attorney said in court there were no warning signs that Austin Thompson -- accused of five counts of murder as well as other charges -- would commit violence. The shootings happened when Austin was 15, and among the five people killed was his older brother.
Austin Thompson is scheduled to go to trial in September 2025 and faces life in prison if convicted.
