Hero in Carthage shooting rampage moving to Highway Patrol

Cpl. Justin Garner was the only police officer on duty on March 29, 2009, when he responded to a report of shots fired at Pinelake Health and Rehabilitation Center.

Garner exchanged gunfire with a man inside, ending a shooting rampage by wounding the gunman in the shoulder. The officer was shot twice in the leg during the incident.

Monday was his last day as an officer for the Carthage Police Department. He will soon start class at the training academy for the state Highway Patrol.

Pinelake residents Tessie Garner, 75; Lillian Dunn, 89; Jesse Musser, 88; Bessie Hedrick, 78; John Goldston, 78; Margaret Johnson, 89; and Louise De Kler, 98; and nurse Jerry Avant, 39, died during the rampage.

Robert Kenneth Stewart, 47, is awaiting trial on eight counts of first-degree murder in the case. If convicted, he could be sentenced to death.