10 years later, hero of NC nursing home shooting still loves putting on the uniform
Ten years after North Carolina's deadliest mass shooting, the officer who ended it says his life was changed, but his love of the job endures.
Posted — UpdatedTen years later, Garner says the shooting changed his life but could never change his love for the job.
"It's something I relive and think about every day," Garner said. There have been more than 3,600 days since his shot brought down Stewart and brought an end to the attack.
"Every day I get up and put this uniform on, it crosses my mind," Garner said. "You know, just getting up each day and putting on the uniform. I think that's what gets me through."
The uniform, then of a Carthage police officer, is now one for the North Carolina State Highway Patrol. Then-Officer Garner is Master Trooper Garner now.
"When I walked through the front door, the lady came out screaming. That was the last sound I heard. There was dead silence, no noise. It was completely silent," Garner recalled.
He saw an elderly woman in a wheelchair who had been shot.
"I heard him shoot four more times," Garner said.
He was armed only with a Glock handgun. He had no backup, but there was no turning back.
"I don't really recall praying. I just remember thinking, 'Is this really taking place here? Is this actually happening?'" he said.
Stewart, an angry ex-husband armed with a shotgun, went hunting for his former wife, who worked at Pinelake.
Garner stopped the carnage, though he doesn't take the credit.
"It was in the Lord's hands," he said.
It was also in the able hands gripping a Glock 40. They aimed at the killer, striking him in the chest.
Shotgun pellets pierced Garner's leg, but those are not his only wounds.
"I still, to this day, have issues. I still have nightmares about it," he said.
Stewart was convicted two years later and is serving life in prison.
Garner is the dad of 1-year-old Ava and 5-year-old Jace, and for 14 years has been husband to Stephanie. He has been with the Highway Patrol since 2011. These days, he spends more time at a desk than on the road. That's something he says his wife appreciates.
"She's always been there to support me 100 percent," he said.
Some days, Garner drives through the Pinelake parking lot.
"That thought is always there with me," he said. "That day – it's every day."
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