Could convictions of Michigan shooter’s parents affect the Hedingham case in Raleigh?

The convictions of the parents of a teenage mass shooter in Michigan could have an impact on proceedings against the father of the teen charged in the Hedingham neighborhood mass shooting in Raleigh in 2022, legal experts say.

Questions remain about the Oct. 13, 2022, shooting, including how Austin Thompson — then a 15-year-old high school student — obtained several firearms and weapons to carry out the shooting that killed five Raleigh residents and injured two others. Warrants released Thursday revealed investigators seized 11 firearms from the home and dozens of boxes of ammunition.

This month, Michigan jurors found the parents of Ethan Crumbley guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the four killings their teenage son carried out in November 2021.

In the Hedingham case, Austin Thompson’s father, Alan Thompson, is charged with one misdemeanor count of storing a firearm in a manner accessible to a minor. He is due in court May 30.

Here’s why the potential for jurors to find parental culpability in the Hedingham mass shooting may increase after the Crumbley verdicts.

What happened in Michigan?

On Nov. 30, 2021, Ethan Crumbley, then 15, shot and killed four classmates at Oxford High School and injured seven other people.

The morning of the shooting, the Crumbleys were called to Oxford High School to meet with teachers and counselors to discuss Ethan’s troubling behavior that included thoughts about guns and harming others.

James and Jennifer Crumbley were charged days later, after prosecutors discovered they had bought their son the handgun at a local shop just four days before the shooting.

Ethan Crumbley was charged as an adult with 24 crimes including murder and terrorism. He pleaded guilty to all the charges less than a year later and was sentenced to life in prison on Dec. 8, 2023.

Conviction of juvenile shooter’s parents

Evidence at Crumbley’s trial revealed many warning signs that his parents ignored.

His parents were told about several incidents at school in the meeting before the shooting: a teacher reported that he had searched for ammunition on his phone, and that he had drawn images depicting people being shot to death and written messages about death, blood and violent thoughts, including “Help me.”

But James and Jennifer Crumbley reportedly neglected his communicated needs for mental health care, declined to respond to calls from his school, and told him “not to get caught.”

James Crumbley and Jennifer Crumbley were convicted of involuntary manslaughter for failing to secure the firearm they had bought their son. It was the first time the parents of a school shooter had faced charges. Both face up to 15 years in prison.

What happened in Hedingham

On Oct. 13, 2022, police say Thompson shot seven people in Raleigh’s Hedingham neighborhood near the Neuse River Greenway Trail. Five were killed, including his 16-year-old brother, James.

Thompson allegedly used a shotgun and a handgun in the shootings. Additional ammunition and weapons were found on him after an hours-long standoff in which he exchanged gunfire with law enforcement, injuring a Raleigh police officer.

Investigators seized 11 firearms and 160 boxes of ammunition — some of them empty — from the home, warrants state. This included four shotguns, five rifles and two pistols.

Could parents be held responsible?

As in the Michigan mass shooting, Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman intends to hold Alan Thompson responsible for allowing his teenage son access to the firearms used in the Hedingham mass shooting.

However, unlike in Michigan, no evidence has been revealed yet that indicates firearms were left unsecured or that Austin Thompson may have shown signs of mental illness.

The News & Observer asked Freeman if Thompson’s parents could potentially face more serious charges after the unprecedented rulings against the Crumbleys.

“While it is inappropriate for me to comment on the currently pending case involving Thompson, the public record would reflect significant differences in these cases,” Freeman wrote in a statement to The N&O. She noted that in contrast with the case in Raleigh, the Crumbleys did not cooperate with authorities in the beginning of that case by briefly eluding arrest.

‘Temper of the times’

The Crumbley verdicts — while not a formal legal precedent set by a higher court — could influence other situations because prosecutors pay attention to other cases, said Robert Weisberg, a Stanford University criminal law expert.

“It is true that prosecutors sort of feel the temper of the times and sometimes feel a little more motivated or emboldened to go for a bigger charge when they sense that’s where the mood of the country is going,” he said.

The Michigan case was the first time a mass shooter’s parents were held liable for a shooting in “a grossly negligent way,” Weisberg said.

Now that it’s happened elsewhere, it is more possible Wake County prosecutors might seek more serious charges against Alan Thompson. To prove involuntary manslaughter, for example, evidence must show negligent behavior contributed to someone’s death.

Weisberg said such a charge “could conceivably happen,” but it would be surprising unless “damning” evidence surfaces in the upcoming trial of Austin Thompson scheduled for September 2025.

“The Crumbley case was like a perfect storm of all the most horrendous facts that could be ascribed to the parent,” Weisberg said.

In Alan Thompson’s case, the prosecutor’s decision to pursue a charge against him suggests that at least one of the guns used in the shooting belonged to him and that Austin took at least one gun without his father’s permission.

For first-time offenders, a Class 1 misdemeanor carries a penalty of no more than 45 days in jail and a potential fine, according to North Carolina law.

Civil court action possible

Even if a more serious charge is not pursued in criminal court, Alan Thompson could still face an additional legal challenge.

“There’s good precedent to take parents of child shooters to civil court even if parents aren’t found guilty in criminal court,” said Donald Clack, a Raleigh personal injury attorney at James Scott Farrin.

Clack referenced the case of O.J. Simpson, who was infamously acquitted of murder after a long trial, but was sued for wrongful death in civil court by the victims’ families.

But Clack also thinks the Crumbley case could “empower” Wake County prosecutors to seek a higher charge, which would require showing an unintentional killing stemmed from culpable negligence or behavior with “recklessness.”

“Is there recklessness or negligence in the knowledge that (Alan Thompson) knew that these acts could be carried out and didn’t store (his guns) properly?” Clack asked.

“Austin had all kinds of ammo and weapons ... it was obviously planned and premeditated,” he said. “If Austin showed any signs of mental illness or violence against his brother, were his parents capable to do anything about it?”

NC Reality Check is an N&O series holding those in power accountable and shining a light on public issues that affect the Triangle or North Carolina. Have a suggestion for a future story? Email realitycheck@newsobserver.com