By T. Keung Hui
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
RALEIGH, N.C. — The suspect charged with killing a WakeMed campus police officer in a hospital lobby in Garner was wounded in the struggle, according to authorities.
Benji Martin Jr. has been charged with murder in connection with the fatal shooting of WakeMed Campus Police Officer Roger Smith during what police said was a struggle Saturday morning in the emergency department lobby of the WakeMed Garner Healthplex.
Garner Police said Sunday that Martin had suffered injuries consistent with a gunshot wound sustained during the struggle and taken to the hospital.
Martin, 29, a Garner resident, is currently in custody and under medical supervision, police said. Once released, Martin will be transported to the Wake County Detention Center.
Garner Police referred questions about Martin’s medical conditions to WakeMed. But a WakeMed spokesperson said Sunday she was unable to provide any information about Martin’s condition.
Police said the circumstances around the shooting remain under investigation. Few details have been released yet about the shooting.
Officer died ‘trying to save’ lives
Smith, 59, was on duty in the emergency department lobby when WakeMed said a struggle erupted at 9 a.m. Saturday, The News & Observer previously reported. WakeMed said Smith had worked for them for 14 years.
Garner Police have 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.”
The WakeMed family is coming together to respond to and process this tragic event,” WakeMed said in a statement Saturday. “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.
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.
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