At least 6 dead in nursing home shooting

[RaVen Blackehart]

At least six people are dead and several injured after a shooting at an assisted living facility in the town of Carthage.

That's about 60 miles southwest of Raleigh.


The incident happened around 10 a.m. on Sunday at the Pinelake Health and Rehabilitation Center. Carthage police confirm six people are dead and three are injured. A police officer and the alleged shooter are among the injured. The alleged shooter is in custody.

Carthage Police Chief Chris McKenzie described the shooter as an "young adult male" who was not a patient at the center.

Authorities planned a news conference at 5 p.m. to release more information.

Firsthealth Moore Regional Hospital tells Eyewitness News several people were transported to the hospital. Gretchen Kelly with the hospital says the first shooting victim arrived by ambulance at 10:34 a.m. Kelly says they initially received six patients.

Since then, two have died, two are still being treated, and two have been released. It isn't clear if the two dead are among the six initially reported dead by police. She is not saying the conditions or anything about the patients. Kelly also says she does not know if one of them was shooter.

The hospital was on lockdown for about four hours. No one was allowed to enter or leave the Pinehurst facility during that time.

A witness says he saw the police officer airlifted from the scene sometime between 10:30 and 11 a.m.

Multiple police units are on the scene surrounding the nursing home including the Moore County Sheriff's Department, Vass Police, Robbins Police and the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office.

A Web site decribes Pinelake Health and Rehabilitation Center as a rehabilitation, nursing and Alzheimer's care unit with 90 nursing beds and 20 Special Care Alzheimer's beds.

continued

http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?se...cal&id=6734388

[MichaelJCheaney]

Its up to 8 dead now according to CNN

[Sister Iroz]

CBS/AP) A gunman walked into a North Carolina nursing home Sunday morning, fatally shooting six people and injuring three others, including a police officer, police said.

CBS Affiliate WRAL has confirmed that the six people killed are all nursing home patients.

WRAL reports that the suspect was also injured.

The shooting occurred at approximately 10 a.m. at the Pinelake Health and Rehab Center, a rehabilitation, nursing and Alzheimer's care facility in Carthage, about 60 miles southwest of Raleigh.

The injured were taken to Moore Regional Hospital, Carthage Police Chief Chris McKenzie said.

He did not offer a motive for the crime or say what the suspect's relationship to the facility might be.

State Senator Harris Blake, R-Moore, told WRAL, "The shooter entered the facility heavily armed and began shooting at people in wheelchairs."

The injured police officer was listed in good condition, McKenzie said. But he was unsure of the extent of the injuries to the surviving victims.

"It's a horrible event in any size town, particularly though when you deal with a small town such as Carthage," McKenzie said. "It's hard. This is my town, this is my small town. I was born and raised here. So yeah, I take it to heart a little bit. All you can do is move forward."

Multiple law enforcement agencies, including Carthage Police Department, Moore County Sheriff's Office and State Bureau Investigation, are investigating, and authorities have not released any other details.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/...n4901035.shtml

Eight people are dead after a man walked into a nursing home in Carthage, N.C. this morning and opened fire, police said.
Six people have been taken to a North Carolina hospital after a shooting at a nursing home.

The shooting happened at 10 a.m. at Pinelake Health and Rehab Center, Carthage Police Chief Chris McKenzie said.

The shooter, a young man who lived locally but was not a patient at the center, was among the injured and is now in the custody of the Moore County Sheriff's Department, authorities said at a press conference this evening.

Among the dead are seven senior citizens, ages 78 to 98, and a nurse at the center. A police officer was also hurt but is expected to recover.

Moore hospital spokeswoman Emily Sloane said earlier today six people were brought into the hospital following the shooting. Two of those, she said, have died, two are being treated and two have been discharged.

The shooter will face eight counts of first degree murder and a charge of felony assault on a law enforcement officer, Moore County District Attorney Maureen Kruger said.

"It's a horrible event, in any size town, particularly though when you deal with a small town such as Carthage," McKenzie at a press conference earlier this afternoon. "It's hard. This is my town, I was born and raised here, so yeah, I take it to heart a little bit but um, all you can do is move forward."

He said that Carthage police are interviewing witnesses to the shooting and receiving help with their investigation from the Moore County Sheriff's Department and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation.

Pinelake Health and Rehab Center, about 60 miles southwest of Raleigh, N.C, is a 90-bed facility with 20 beds for Alzheimer's patients, according to the center's Web site

http://abcnews.go.com/US/comments?type=story&id=7202596

This is the only one I found saying eight.
How horrible! My prayer and thoughts are with the family members of the injured and the fatal victims

[Kitty]

Says 8 here too: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/nursing_home_shooting

Gunman apprehended:

Robert Stewart, 45, of Moore County, was charged hours later with eight counts of first-degree murder and a single charge of felony assault of a law enforcement officer. Authorities offered few other details, allowing only that Stewart was not a patient or an employee at the nursing home, and isn't believed to be related to any of the victims.

[Unamused Cat]

Talk about shooting sitting ducks.

The A.P. reported that while the authorities declined to comment on a possible motive, Mr. Stewart’s ex-wife said he had recently been reaching out to family members, telling them that he had cancer and that he was preparing to “go away.”

The ex-wife, Sue Griffin, told The A.P. that she had been married to Mr. Stewart for 15 years. They had not spoken since divorcing in 2001, she said, but he had been trying to call her over the past week through her son, mother, sister and grandmother.

Ms. Griffin said Mr. Stewart had once been a painter. She said she had no idea whether her ex-husband was connected to the nursing home.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/30/us...oting.html?hpw

[PoongyPrincess]

Why would anyone shoot up a nursing home?

[Kitty]

Why would anyone shoot up a nursing home?

Maybe he was trying for suicide by cop?

[Sister Iroz]

CARTHAGE, N.C. -- The ex-wife of a gunman accused of killing eight people in a nursing home said he had "violent tendencies," and police said he could have killed more if a heroic officer hadn't intervened by shooting him.

Police said Robert Stewart, 45, went on a terrifying rampage in the Pinelake Health and Rehab center on Sunday morning, killing seven residents and a nurse and wounding three others, including the officer. But witnesses told police Stewart left some people untouched during the massacre without explanation.

Authorities wouldn't discuss Stewart's motive late Sunday, but law enforcement officials said they would release more details at a news conference Monday. Stewart was in custody, but authorities would not give any details about his injuries or treatment.

Stewart's ex-wife, Sue Griffin, said she had no idea why her ex-husband would target the facility or whether he had any connection to it.

She said Stewart had been recently reaching out to family members, telling them he had cancer and was preparing for a long trip and to "go away."

Griffin said she was married to Stewart for 15 years, and while they hadn't spoken since divorcing in 2001, he had been trying to reach her during the past week through her son, mother, sister and grandmother.

"He did have some violent tendencies from time to time," Griffin said. "I wouldn't put it past him. I hate to say it, but it is true."

[...]

http://www.wsoctv.com/news/19039659/detail.html

[Sister Iroz]

CARTHAGE, N.C. — The wife of the gunman who killed seven elderly patients and a nurse at a nursing home here on Sunday worked at the nursing home, the police said Monday morning.

Although the precise motive for the shooting remains unclear, her employment at the nursing home is the first link to the site of the shooting that investigators have disclosed.

“It is my understanding that he had one wife that he may have been separated from,” said Chief Chris McKenzie of the Carthage Police Department, “but the details as to whether or not she was there or if that was part of the motive has yet to be determined.”

The shooter, identified as Robert Stewart, 45, was apprehended after Justin Garner, the only police officer on duty that morning in Carthage, responded to an emergency call and entered the building alone, exchanging fire with the gunman, Chief McKenzie said at a news conference.

Quoting a neighbor, The Associated Press identified the shooter’s wife as Wanda Luck, who worked at the nursing home as a certified nurse assistant.

Mr. Stewart suffered one gunshot wound to the upper torso, Mr. McKenzie said, and Officer Garner was wounded by three pellets in the foot and leg.

“Whether or not he realizes it now, he will hopefully someday realize how many lives he actually saved,” Chief McKenzie said, speaking of Officer Garner. He added that the police recovered several weapons that the shooter brought into the building.

The shooting began around 10 a.m. at Pinelake Health and Rehab, a one-story brick building with white rocking chairs out front.

The patients were identified by the authorities as Louise Decker, 98; Lillian Dunn, 89; Tessie Garner, 88; John Goldston, 78; Bessie Hendrick, 78; Margaret Johnson, 89; and Jessie Musser, 88. All were residents. The nurse was identified as Jerry Avant Jr., 39.

Frances Green, the sister of Mr. Avant, said the authorities believed that her brother was shot while trying to stop the gunman.

“He just lay down his life to protect the residents and employees there,” Ms. Green said. “Unfortunately he lost his life. But he was a hero.”

The A.P. reported that while the authorities declined to comment on a possible motive, Mr. Stewart’s ex-wife from a previous marriage said he had recently been reaching out to family members, telling them that he had cancer and that he was preparing to “go away.”

The ex-wife, Sue Griffin, told The A.P. that she had been married to Mr. Stewart for 15 years. They had not spoken since divorcing in 2001, she said, but he had been trying to call her over the past week through her son, mother, sister and grandmother.

Ms. Griffin said Mr. Stewart had once been a painter. She said she had no idea whether her ex-husband was connected to the nursing home.

[...]

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/31/us/31shooting.html?hp

[Dakota Valkyrie]

A prosecutor said Thursday she will seek the death penalty against a man accused of killing eight people during a shooting rampage at a nursing home in central North Carolina.
[...]

Stewart is charged with eight counts of first-degree murder, attempted murder of an officer, assault with a deadly weapon and assault on a law enforcement officer.

Those who died were nurse Jerry Avant, 39.; Bessie Elizabeth Hedrick, 78; Tessie Garner, 75; Lillian Dunn, 89; Jesse Musser, 88; John Goldston, 78; Margaret Johnson, 89, and Louise DeKler, 98.

http://www.buffalonews.com/nationalw...ry/685531.html

[Dakota Valkyrie]

Prosecutors must prove Robert Stewart was not under the influence of a sleep medication during the shootings at Pinelake Health & Rehabilitation Center that killed eight people, a Moore County judge ruled Wednesday.

Defense lawyers are employing a rarely used defense strategy called "automatism" to argue that Stewart was not in control of his actions and is not guilty of eight counts of first-degree murder.

They say Stewart was under the influence of Ambien, a prescription sleep medication he had been taking for two years, and was effectively sleepwalking during the March 2009 rampage at the nursing home where his estranged wife worked.

Usually, defense lawyers must prove that a defendant was not in control of his actions.

However, Superior Court Judge James Webb shifted that burden to prosecutors.

The jury must assume that Stewart was not in control of his actions and the evidence must convince them otherwise in order to find him guilty.

Webb made the ruling after defense lawyer Jonathan Megerian said evidence for the automatism defense - the Ambien found in Stewart's blood after the shootings - came from the prosecution's case.
[...]

In this case, automatism differs from involuntary intoxication, which is not a legal excuse for committing a crime, because witnesses have testified that Stewart took medications he was prescribed by his doctor.

Despite agreeing with defense lawyers on the automatism issue, Webb rejected a defense request to allow the jury the option of finding Stewart guilty of voluntary or involuntary manslaughter instead of the eight counts of first-degree murder with which he is charged.

Defense lawyers also had argued that Stewart was temporarily insane during the shootings and could not understand his actions, so jury instructions will include information about insanity, as well.

The instructions that jurors will receive from the judge before they begin deliberations Friday are lengthy and complex.

For each count of murder, jurors will have the option of finding Stewart guilty of either first-degree murder or second-degree murder.

If jurors believe Stewart committed the murders with deliberation and planning, it will fit the definition of first-degree murder.

If the jurors believes he is guilty of the murders but did not plan them, they must vote for second-degree murder.

If they find him not-guilty, they will have to note whether he is not guilty by reason of insanity or because of another defense argument.
[...]

If Stewart is found guilty of at least one count of first-degree murder, a second phase of the trial will begin in which prosecutors will argue for the death penalty instead of life imprisonment, which is the default sentence for the charge.
[...]

Closing arguments are scheduled for 9:15 a.m. today. The jury is expected to begin its deliberations Friday.

http://www.fayobserver.com/articles/2011/08/31/1119450

[Dakota Valkyrie]

Jailed for life.

Robert Stewart has been sentenced to spend the rest of his life behind bars for killing eight people at a rural nursing home.

Stewart was sentenced Saturday to spend between roughly 16 and 20 years in prison for each of the murders, with the sentences running consecutively. That would put the overweight 47-year-old in prison for between 128 and 160 years. Judge James Webb added up to 22 years, stemming from assault and firearms charges, which will also be consecutive.

After two days of deliberation, the jury convicted Stewart of second-degree murder for shooting and killing seven elderly residents and a nurse at Pinelake Health and Rehabilitation Center on March 29, 2009. Stewart's lawyers say he plans to appeal.

Stewart, 47, a disabled painter and National Guard veteran, was charged with eight counts of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted first-degree murder, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury, two counts of assault by pointing a gun, discharging a firearm into an occupied property and assault with a firearm on a law enforcement officer.

Defense lawyers never denied that Stewart was the gunman at Pinelake Health and Rehabilitation Center on March 29, 2009. But they argued that he was so addled by mental illness and a mixture of prescription drugs that he wasn't fully responsible for his actions.

Prosecutors had sought a conviction on first-degree murder charges, saying Stewart knew exactly what he was doing.

http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/09/...-shooting.html