The man charged with killing two students and wounding four others at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte pleaded guilty Thursday to several charges.
The gunman, who was last enrolled at UNC Charlotte during the Fall 2018 semester, opened fire inside a lecture hall on April 30, killing Ellis “Reed” Parlier and Riley Howell and injuring Drew Pescaro, Rami Al-Ramadhan, Emily Houpt and Sean DeHart, AP News reports.
The shooter pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder, four counts of attempted first-degree murder and discharging a firearm on educational property. Superior Court Judge Robert Bell sentenced him to two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole.
By pleading guilty, the gunman avoided a possible death sentence had he been convicted at trial, according to a plea deal with prosecutors.
Defense Attorney Michael Kabakoff told the courtroom the gunman had been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and executing him would violate the Constitution’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment, according to The Charlotte Observer.
Kabakoff went on to describe the shooter as a loner who did not make friends and could not get a job because he struggled to socially interact with people. He also was mourning the death of his mother when he enrolled at the school, he added.
“I really messed up. If I could go back in time, even to the very second before I went into that classroom, I would back out of it,” the gunman said in court. “I’m so sorry. I made a mistake.”
Natalie Howell, mother of Riley Howell, and Julie Parker, mother of Reed Parlier, also spoke out in court.
“I want the defendant to know that he can’t ever get away from what he did,” said Howell. “He has a lifetime of suffering and prolonged agony that awaits. He is a murderer and there will be no mercy where he is going.”
Riley Howell was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart Medal and the Bronze Star Medal, two of the military’s highest honors, for tackling the gunman and attempting to disarm him. He was shot and killed during his heroic action.
“We will never forgive [the gunman] for his actions,” Parlier said. “The defendant wanted to kill someone? He should have turned the gun on himself… May he rot in hell.”
Reed Parlier was studying IT software development in the hopes of becoming a game developer. He spent his summers volunteering as a tutor for younger programmers.
