A lone gunman killed three people and injured five others at a packed North Carolina waterfront bar late Saturday in what police described as a “highly premeditated” attack.
Nigel Max Edge, 40, was detained by the Coast Guard and charged with three counts of first-degree murder, five counts of attempted murder and five counts of assault with a deadly weapon on Sunday morning. Court records do not list an attorney for Edge, and jail records show he remains in custody without bond.
Southport Police Chief Todd Coring said that officers were dispatched to the American Fish Company at around 9:30 p.m. on Saturday night. According to reports, the shots came from a boat in the waterway outside of the bar.
“He acted alone,” Coring told reporters Sunday morning. “This is highly premeditated, from what we’re seeing at this time, and we feel there are no other threats to our community.”
The three people killed were not publicly identified.
Dosher Memorial Hospital confirmed in a statement that its staff treated two patients for gunshot wounds. Both were stabilized and released to go home.
District Attorney John David described one of the victims as “clinging to life.”
Edge allegedly fled the scene on his boat and headed toward the neighboring community of Oak Island, officials said. Edge is a resident of Oak Island, where local police said they were aware of him.
A U.S. Coast Guard crew detained Edge and turned him over to the Oak Island Police after spotting him allegedly loading a boat at a public ramp in the town.
Law enforcement officials from the Oak Island Police, Southport Police, the sheriff’s office and the State Bureau of Investigation searched Edge’s boat, vehicle and residence. Officials did not provide many details but said an assault rifle was found during the search.
Court records show that Edge changed his name in 2023 from Sean William Debevoise.
Coring told reporters that Edge is a “self-described” combat veteran who was injured in the line of duty and suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. NBC News is working to independently verify Edge’s military background.
Edge’s ex-wife, Rachel Crowl, told NBC News that she has not spoken to her ex-husband in about a decade. Court records show their divorce was finalized in 2009.
Crowl said he had been “crying out for help for a long time” regarding his behavior and mental health. Referring to Edge by his prior name, Crowl added that “what Sean did was very wrong.”
“I’m sad for these families. I’m sad nobody helped him and this could have maybe been prevented,” Crowl said.
Oak Island Police Chief Charlie Morris said that Edge was known to his officers, as Edge “frequently hung out on our pier.” He also filed several lawsuits against the town of Oak Island within the last couple of years, Morris said.
The district attorney described the victims as vacationers visiting the waterfront bar, where live music was playing.
The yacht basin is in the southeastern corner of the state, “where the Intracoastal Waterway, Cape Fear River and Atlantic Ocean converge,” according to state tourism organization Visit North Carolina. The basin is lined with restaurants, it says.
David, the DA, noted that the area once served as the backdrop to the 2013 film “Safe Haven,” an adaptation of the popular Nicholas Sparks novel.
“And that name is symbolic of the way in which the people in our community view this area,” David said.