Chief Chris McKenzie of the Carthage Police Department holds a news conference Monday about the March 29 shooting at the Pinelake Health and Rehab Center in Carthage, N.C. (Jim R. Bounds/Associated Press)The estranged wife of a gunman who killed eight people at a North Carolina nursing home was an employee of the facility, the Carthage police chief said Monday.

But Chris McKenzie declined to confirm a report that gunman Robert Stewart's ex-wife was hiding there at the time of the shooting.

He said investigators are looking at whether domestic issues were a motive for the shooting.

The rampage at the Pinelake Health and Rehab centre on Sunday claimed the lives of seven residents and a nurse.

McKenzie described the shooting scene as "horrific" and unimaginable," at a press conference Monday.

"Everything that you can possibly imagine that is bad in this world. It's horrible," he said.

Faith will help get the community through the ordeal, the police chief added.

"Our community is strong, faith-based and I'm sincere when I say … that faith will get this community through this," he said.

Sue Griffin pauses during an interview Sunday. She is an ex-wife of suspected gunman Robert Stewart, who is accused of opening fire at a nursing home Sunday morning, killing eight people and wounding several others. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)Police officer Justin Garner suffered a leg wound when he responded to a 911 call at the nursing home Sunday. He is expected to recover.

The 25-year-old Garner ended the rampage by shooting Stewart in the chest.

Stewart, 45, is scheduled to appear in court next week on eight counts of first-degree murder and a charge of felony assault of a law enforcement officer.

Sue Griffin, another former wife of Stewart, told authorities he had recently been calling family members, telling them he had cancer and was preparing to "go away."

"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."

Carthage is a town of about 1,800 people in the North Carolina Sandhills, an area popular among retirees and home to several noted golf courses, including the famed Pinehurst resort that regularly hosts the U.S. Open.