Suspect charged in fatal shooting of WakeMed police officer at Garner Healthplex
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- WakeMed campus officer Roger Smith died after a lobby struggle at 9 a.m.
- Garner resident Benji Martin Jr., 29, charged with murder Saturday evening.
- Police and WakeMed review video and interviews; Garner ED closed briefly.
A WakeMed campus police officer was shot and killed Saturday morning in Garner.
The officer, Roger Smith, was on duty in the emergency department lobby at 9 a.m. when “a struggle ensued,” WakeMed said in a statement Saturday afternoon. Smith had worked for WakeMed for 14 years, WakeMed spokesperson Debbie Laughery said. He was 59.
In a news release at 5:20 p.m. Saturday, Garner police said a suspect, Benji Martin Jr., had been charged with murder in connection with the shooting. Martin, 29, is a Garner resident.
“This is a heartbreaking and senseless act of violence,” Garner Police Chief Chris Adams said. “Officer Smith dedicated his career to protecting others, and even in his final moments, he put the safety of others before his own.”
Laughery said WakeMed ambulances took patients who were already being treated from Garner to other facilities after the shooting. She did not say whether anyone other than Smith had been hit by gunfire. Without providing details of what happened, she said, “There were many heroes today, others that stepped up and took quick action to take care of the situation.”
As of Saturday evening, it was not clear whether Smith remained at the Garner facility or if he had been transferred to a WakeMed trauma center.
Garner Police Capt. David Casteline said Smith was responding to a disturbance in the lobby, and that he “died trying to save the lives of the workers here at WakeMed and other people that were in the lobby.” Police have released few details about what happened.
“There’s a lot of details involved,” Casteline said. “Detectives are trying to piece all that together. They’ve interviewed witnesses. They’ve reviewed video surveillance, and they’re still trying to piece that together to see what actually happened.”
“The WakeMed family is coming together to respond to and process this tragic event,” the statement read. “Additional staff and counselors are on-site to support our Garner ED and Campus Police teams.”
Garner police and the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation are conducting a joint investigation, WakeMed said in its statement.
Gov. Josh Stein posted a statement on Facebook Saturday afternoon expressing his condolences to Smith’s family and WakeMed.
“My heart goes out to the family of Officer Roger Smith, who was killed protecting patients and their families,” Stein said. “Law enforcement officers put themselves in harm’s way to keep us safe, and we are forever grateful for Officer Smith’s sacrifice. Please pray for his family and the entire WakeMed community in their time of need.”
The WakeMed Garner Healthplex is in the 400 block of U.S. Highway 70 in Garner, a Wake County town five miles south of Raleigh. The facility has an emergency department with 12 private treatment rooms; WakeMed’s trauma centers are located in Raleigh and Cary.
This story was originally published November 8, 2025 at 9:59 AM.
.jpg)
