Woman stabbed at Garner bus stop beside Walmart, police investigate

A woman was stabbed at a bus stop beside the Walmart Supercenter on Fayetteville Road in Garner, turning one of the town’s busiest shopping and transit stops into an active crime scene late Saturday night. Garner police said officers were called just after 9:30 p.m. to Purser Drive at 4500 Fayetteville Road, where they found the woman with a neck injury.

Police said the woman was conscious and breathing when responders reached her and that she was taken to a nearby hospital. WRAL later reported that she is expected to survive. Within about an hour, police said there had been no arrests, though investigators were talking with witnesses and believed a lead was possible.

The other people involved were gone by the time officers arrived, leaving detectives to rely on witness accounts and evidence from the scene. Police also said preliminary information indicated there was no ongoing threat to the public, an important detail for people who live, shop and travel through the Fayetteville Road corridor.

The location matters because it is not an isolated patch of pavement, but a highly visible everyday stop where Garner residents and pass-through traffic mix with transit riders heading to and from work, errands and evening shifts. GoRaleigh tells riders to wait where the operator can see them and to arrive at stops five to 10 minutes early, a reminder that bus stops are part of routine daily life and often sit in open, exposed commercial areas.

This was not the first serious police response at the Walmart at 4500 Fayetteville Road. Garner police information shows a fatal shooting there in January 2024, giving Saturday night’s stabbing a grim backdrop in a corridor already associated with major emergencies. For nearby shoppers and riders, that history is likely to sharpen concern about safety in parking lots, bus stops and late-night retail traffic.

The Garner Police Department says it is nationally accredited and describes its mission as reducing crime, creating a safe environment, building trust and enhancing quality of life. The Town of Garner also maintains crime statistics and police crash reports, along with a crime-tip line for active cases, as investigators continue trying to determine what led to the stabbing beside the Walmart.