Safety concerns are being raised at WakeMed after a man was arrested for bringing a gun to the hospital on New Bern Avenue.
Travion Jackson, 21, was arrested on Thursday. According to court documents, Jackson brought the gun to the hospital campus “for the purpose of terrifying others.”
“It was really scary,” said Cindy Chamblee, a woman who was at the hospital when the incident happened.
Chambless said she was at the hospital visiting her mother when she saw Jackson sitting on the ground near the main lobby in handcuffs and surrounded by police.
“If he was there to try to find somebody, he could have probably easily done it,” Chamblee said.
A spokesperson with WakeMed says staff members reported a fight involving guns and multiple people at a hospital parking deck.
The hospital was temporarily put on secured access while WakeMed Campus Police officers searched for suspects who had reportedly entered the hospital. Officials said the group responsible had left the hospital, while police arrested Jackson.
Chamblee questions what could have happened if the police hadn’t arrested Jackson when they did.
“You can probably go anywhere in that hospital, and nobody will even know it,” Chamblee said. “You don’t have to check in or anything.”
WRAL News has reached out to WakeMed, asking what security measures are in place to try to prevent situations like this from happening, and if there were any metal detectors or weapon detection systems at this WakeMed location.
Officials said the hospital “constantly reviews its current safety measures and security incidents, including weapons detection, to further enhance security efforts.”
But for Chamblee, it’s not enough.
“They need to make hospitals and places like that safe for the patients and the people there,” Chamblee said.
Jackson now faces several charges, including felony in possession of a gun on an educational property, since WakeMed falls under the UNC Board of Nursing, armed to terrorize people and possession of a firearm by a felon, after he was convicted last year for possessing a weapon of mass destruction.
Seasonal visitation restrictions at WakeMed’s facilities will go into effect on Dec. 22 to try to limit the spread of illness during flu season.
Starting on the 22nd, children younger than 12 will not be allowed to visit patients in WakeMed hospital nursing units, patient care areas and waiting rooms. The measure is to prevent the spread of respiratory syncytial virus and the flu.
The policy includes Healthplex emergency departments and WakeMed Mental Health and Well-Being Hospital – WakeBrook.
“We truly understand that this annual visitation restriction can be difficult for families, but we are committed to ensuring our patients are safe while they are in our care,” said a WakeMed spokesperson. “Restricting visitation is best clinical practice to prevent the spread of viruses within our facilities.”
Supporters of a Garner man accused of killing a WakeMed police officer called Monday for the hospital’s security-camera footage to be released.
Benji Martin Jr., 29, was arrested and charged with murder Friday after being released from the hospital. He’d spent over a week there after also being shot in the Nov. 8 struggle with Officer Roger Smith, 59, in the WakeMed Garner Healthplex’s emergency department.
Smith, a 14-year veteran of the WakeMed Campus Police Department, was fatally wounded and was laid to rest last week in Clayton. He had worked as a police officer since 1996, spending 16 years with the Knightdale Police Department in addition to his two stints with the WakeMed department.
Few details have been released about the shooting, which occurred just before 9 a.m. when Smith responded to WakeMed staff’s call for security in the emergency department, The N&O previously reported. Martin’s friends told The N&O he was taken to WakeMed that morning for a mental health crisis after immense personal stress, including his fiancee miscarrying one of their twins and his grandmother becoming ill.
While Garner police have described Smith as a “hero whose actions likely prevented further loss of life,” Martin’s loved ones have challenged that narrative, describing the 29-year-old as a gentle soul who spread kindness to others. A GoFundMe for his family had raised almost $14,000 of its $100,000 goal as of Monday afternoon.
Smith’s family is also requesting donations to the 200 Club of Wake County, which helps the family members of first responders killed in the line of duty.
Judge orders suspect to be held without bail
In a brief hearing Monday afternoon, District Court Judge Crystal Grimes ordered Martin to remain in jail without bail and set his next appearance for Dec. 15. Grimes would not entertain a motion from Emilia Beskind, Martin’s defense attorney, to order the state to allow her to see evidence before testing it.
In the motion submitted Monday morning, Beskind wrote that Martin was unarmed and “seeking treatment for mental anguish” at the time of the shooting.
The motion also claims that Beskind has yet to receive any video evidence or physical evidence in the case.
“At this stage, the defense has no access to the evidence that has been collected,” she wrote. “Only the State has seen the video, and it is unclear what tests or analysis the Garner police are referencing when speaking to the media.”
Benji Martin Jr. enters the courtroom for his first appearance in Wake County court, Monday afternoon, Nov. 24, 2025. Martin is accused of murder in the shooting death of WakeMed Garner police officer Roger Smith earlier this month. Scott Sharpe ssharpe@newsobserver.com
Supporters rally for ‘Justice for Benji’
In a short press conference outside the Wake County Justice Center after the hearing, at least 20 friends, family members and community activists gathered to call for the state to release footage of the shooting. One person carried a “Justice for Benji” sign and led a brief chant of “Justice for Benji.”
“We also have questions,” said the Rev. Greg Drumwright, who is supporting the family. “We want to know how an unarmed, nonviolent individual who has no criminal history … whatsoever can show up at a medical facility in duress, seeking medical attention, and end up in a situation such as this.”
Tamieka Alston-Gibson, Martin’s cousin, issued a statement on Martin’s family’s behalf, describing the 29-year-old as a good-natured man deeply rooted in faith and service.
“He’s the one all of our children run to at our family gatherings — always smiling, always willing to give a lending hand but, most of all, his hugs,” she said. “He has never been in any trouble, and anyone who knows him [knows] he would never harm anyone.”
Alston-Gibson, who described herself as a health care provider, said she questions why WakeMed staff didn’t do more to help her cousin.
“We go to the hospital looking for a safe haven, and it breaks our family’s hearts that we do not feel that Benji was extended the help that he sought,” she said. “It’s heartbreaking to see the media try to portray him in a light that is surely not him, but we — his family, his friends and those who love him most — we know the truth.”
Alston-Gibson also extended the family’s condolences to Smith’s loved ones.
Benji Martin Sr., Martin’s father, spoke briefly, adding that his son was “a wonderful person” who had never hurt anyone.
“We sent him to the doctors to get help, and we end up like this, and that’s not fair to him,” he said. “We need to see the video.”
This story was originally published November 24, 2025 at 3:23 PM.
Lexi Solomon joined The News & Observer in August 2024 as the emerging news reporter. She previously worked in Fayetteville at The Fayetteville Observer and CityView, reporting on crime, education and local government. She is a 2022 graduate of Virginia Tech with degrees in Russian and National Security & Foreign Affairs.
WakeMed announced on Tuesday that UnitedHealthcare will no longer cover Medicare Advantage plans starting Saturday, Nov. 15th, unless a deal is reached.
The two organizations are in the middle of negotiations, both with the contracts set to expire on Saturday.
Officials with UnitedHealthcare told WRAL News they are focused on reaching an agreement that is affordable for people and employers.
“WakeMed is demanding a near 40% price hike, including a 30% rate increase in just the first year of our contract that would make it the most expensive health system in the Raleigh market. WakeMed’s proposal would increase health care costs for North Carolinians and employers by more than $94 million over two years,” the statement read in part.
UnitedHealthcare officials said they are proposing a “meaningful rate increases that continue to reimburse WakeMed at market-competitive rate.”
Officials with WakeMed told WRAL News they are working diligently to negotiate with UnitedHealthcare, with the “intent of staying in-network,” and said officials have “walked away from discussions related to their Medicare Advantage plans.”
“On November 7, UHC notified WakeMed that they would no longer participate in negotiations related to their Medicare Advantage plans. As a result, we expect that WakeMed hospitals, outpatient clinics, urgent cares and physician specialists will be out of network for UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage plans beginning November 15, 2025,” WakeMed officials said in part.
Officials said they “remain at the table in good faith with the hope that UHC will join us to come to a fair agreement with a shared commitment to patients.”
“We cannot accept the terms UHC has proposed to date, as they put WakeMed at risk for being able to take care of our community and deliver on our mission of caring for all. With the rising supply, equipment, and labor costs, UHC’s proposal with no reimbursement increase to keep pace with inflation for the next four years is not only unacceptable but impossible,” the statement continued.
WakeMed officials said rates paid by UnitedHealthcare are “far below” those paid to other Triangle hospitals for the same services.
“This disadvantages WakeMed in many ways when trying to compete to hire nurses, physicians and paying competitive benefits, and limits our business development initiatives.”
UnitedHealthcare Officials also said if an agreement is not reached by Saturday, WakeMed’s facilities and specialty providers will be out of network for employer-sponsored and individual commercial plans, as well as Medicare Advantage plans.
