North Raleigh Today

The 15-year-old suspect in last month’s mass shooting in Raleigh has been released from the hospital and taken to a detention center, fueling anger and grief among at least one of the people who lost a loved one.

“I ask myself every morning, every morning, ‘What would Mary want me to do today?’ I’ve said it before and I’ll continue to say it: Mary’s the best person I’ve ever met in my life,” Rob Steele, who was engaged to one of the shooting victims, told WRAL News. Mary Marshall was one of five people killed in the shooting spree on Oct. 13.

Austin Thompson, the suspect, had been hospitalized at WakeMed since the day of the shooting. He was transferred last week to the Wake County Juvenile Detention Center.

“I’m angry, but I’m not going to wallow in it because [Marshall] wouldn’t want me to. She wouldn’t want any of us to. She’d want justice, but not to be angry forever,” Steele told WRAL News.

Now he is turning his attention to the future, hoping the justice system works to hold Thompson accountable for his actions.

“The fact is, he’s going to live and I have to accept that,” Steele said, according to WRAL News. “So now I’m looking forward to it. We can’t move on with the legal proceedings if he stays in the hospital the rest of his life.” 

He is also advocating for changes to North Carolina’s gun storage laws. Already he has met with Gov. Roy Cooper (D-NC) and lawmakers to discuss the issue. One thing he suggested is for the state to enact stricter penalties for failing to safely secure firearms. His next step is to meet with U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC). 

“I’m a gun owner myself,” Steele told WRAL. “I just think that with rights come responsibilities. So I think that people who have guns should be required to lock them up if they’re not directly controlling them themselves.”