Issue link: http://cp.revolio.com/i/1731
AMERICAN POLICE BEAT: MAY 2009 55 T he police officer t h a t s t o p p e d a shooting rampage at a nursing home in rural North Carolina is being hailed as a hero af- ter a single shot ended the bloodshed. Justin Garner, according to those that know him, is a hometown guy that has always wanted to protect people. Garner wanted to be a police offi cer since he was fi ve or six years old, when he was fi rst old enough to talk about it, Garner's father, Randy, told reporters from USA Today. Chris Garner, a cousin by marriage, wasn't surprised to learn that her cousin did what he did. "He doesn't do anything halfway," she told USA To- day's Oren Dorell. "He puts his whole heart into it or not at all." Garner was the only of- fi cer on duty Sunday in the town of Carthage, popula- tion 2,021, when he saw a vehicle shot up in the parking lot of the Pinelake Health and Rehab Center. He heard shots. There wasn't time to wait for other offi cers. He went right in, said his uncle, Wil- liam Garner. "One of the first things he saw was someone who'd been shot," said William Garner, who said he talked to his nephew about what happened. "I have no doubt that he knew it was going to get a whole lot worse if he didn't do something." In a flash, Garner spot- ted the shooter reloading a shotgun. "He gave him several op- portunities to put the weap- on down," the uncle told Dorell. When the shooter did not comply with the officer's orders, Garner shot Robert Stewart, 45, a house painter who allegedly murdered seven residents of Pinelake and a nurse. Offi cer Garner was shot by Stewart, getting hit with two buckshot pellets in his leg and one in his foot, the uncle said. Stewart was charged with eight counts of fi rst-degree murder. Although police would not discuss motive, Carthage Police Chief Chris McKenzie said Stewart's estranged wife was work- ing as a nursing assistant at Pinelake. Moore County District Attorney Maureen Krueger said Stewart's ram- page was "not a random act." Justin Garner was mar- ried in 2006 and had taken classes after high school so he could become a peace of- fi cer. In his short time on the job, he's been a recipient of the Carthage police offi cer of the year award. He is an avid deer hunter and a typical Southern polite gentleman who happens to be a police offi cer, said Tom Herndon, a pastor at First Baptist Church in Carthage and chaplain to the town's police and fi re departments. "He's really being con- sidered a hero for what he's done," Herndon told USA Today. "He went in by him- self, he had no back-up, and if he'd waited for back-up, probably more lives would have been taken." It could have been much worse: active shooter With no time to wait for help, a cop jumps into action, saving lives that would have been more victims Circle number 97 on the Reader Service Card.