WakeMed Garner shooting: Officer killed, suspect in custody after hospital ER gunfire, officials say

GARNER, N.C. (WNCN) — Tragedy struck a Wake County hospital early Saturday morning in Garner, where an officer was gunned down in the line of duty at the emergency room.

According to law enforcement officials, the shooting occurred around 9 a.m. Saturday at the WakeMed Garner Healthplex on U.S. 70.

A statement from WakeMed said that Officer Roger Smith, 59, died from his gunshot injuries at the WakeMed Raleigh on New Bern Avenue. The statement said a struggle ensued before Smith, who is from Knightdale, was shot in the emergency department lobby.

“Our thoughts and prayers are now with the Smith family as they come to learn of this tragic event.”

A spokesperson with the Garner Police Department told CBS 17 that the shooter was in custody and there was no longer an active threat at the hospital.

CBS 17 was at the scene where 20 to 30 officers secured the scene and searched Saturday afternoon for any evidence linked to the shooting.

A procession honoring Smith shut down Interstate I-440 West as officers escorted Smith’s body to the examiner’s office.

Smith had 14 years of service with WakeMed Campus Police and previously served with Knightdale Police Department, according to a WakeMed news release. He was from Knightdale and went to Wake Tech.

Witnesses react to the officer-involved shooting at WakeMed Garner

A woman told CBS 17 off-camera that her father was in the hospital when the shooting happened.

“I’m really concerned for him because we came in last night and he was having a stroke,” said Remona Simmons.

After being redirected from another WakeMed facility in Raleigh, her father stayed overnight at the Garner Healthplex.

“They said this morning that they would transfer him out,” said Simmons. “So we left this morning, went home, got a shower, and came back to this.”

She is concerned with how long the investigation would take, as well as his comfort and safety. The nurses are communicating with her, including the second she could go see him.

“I’m sure he feels by himself,” she said, “and I wish that I could just get in there just to hold him and make sure he’s ok.”

Meanwhile, across the street from the hospital is a local farmers’ market that takes place every other Saturday at Agri Supply on U.S. Highway 70. Some vendors were surprised by the heavy police presence prior to getting the news of the shooting.

“All of a sudden, they just come from everywhere,” said a vendor at the farmer’s market. “I said ‘something must be going on!'”

When CBS 17’s Mary Smith told him what happened, he had a somber response. “It’s sad, but that’s the world we live in now,” he said. “I wish people would grow up and quit being so mean all the time.”

While none of the vendors we spoke to heard gunshots, they grew suspicious of the response at the hospital.

“We figured it was an accident, but then out of nowhere suddenly fire trucks, ambulances, maybe 19 cop vehicles at one point, and a little while later, one ambulance pulled out with 5 other cop cars behind it,” said vendor Emmalee Northern. “We didn’t hear anything else until we started checking the news.”

“I’m glad they caught the suspect,” said Northern, “and hopefully there can be more precautions put on to protect people.”

WakeMed Health and Hospitals released a statement about the matter:

We give an enormous amount of gratitude to the Garner Healthplex Emergency Department staff for their heroic and quick response to this incident. WakeMed leadership is on-site and working with the State Bureau of Investigation and the Garner Police Department as is standard with police-related shootings. The Garner Healthplex Emergency Department lobby remains inaccessible at this time.

The WakeMed family is coming together to respond to and process this tragic event. Additional staff and counselors are on-site to support our Garner ED and Campus Police teams.

The investigation remains ongoing. The name of the suspect or any charges have not been released by investigators at this time.