A boater pulled alongside a North Carolina waterfront bar Saturday night and opened fire killing three people and wounding five others.
Southport Police Chief Todd Coring said Nigel Max Edge, a 40-year-old US Marine veteran, was later arrested and charge in what he called a “highly premeditated” attack, NBC News reported.
Authorities said that after the shooting, Edge — who had changed his name from Sean William Debevoise in 2023 — fled in his boat to the neighboring community of Oak Island, where he lives. A US Coast Guard crew spotted him loading a boat at a public ramp and detained him before handing him over to Oak Island Police.
“He acted alone,” Coring said 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 shooting took place at The American Fish Company at about 9:30 p.m. while the crowded bar was populated mostly by tourists, police said. Todd Weaver, a local resident, said he was near the entrance when the gunfire started and called 911. He said he spotted a “boat going real slow with his lights off” and stayed on the phone with dispatchers until the boat was out of sight.
Police said an assault rifle was seized during a search of Edge’s boat.
Coring described Edge as a “self-described” combat veteran, while military records show he served in the Marines from September 2003 to June 2009, attaining the rank of sergeant and being deployed twice to Iraq. He earned several service awards, including a Purple Heart and two bronze stars.
Oak Island Police Chief Charlie Morris said Edge was “known” to police there and had filed several lawsuits against the town in recent years.
While state agencies appeared to be involved in the investigation, no federal agencies, other than the Coast Guard, were involved as of Sunday. No one speculated on a motive for what police called a “targeted” attack.
According to the New York Post, Edge escorted “American Idol” star Kellie Pickler to the CMT Music Awards in 2012 and then later sued her, claiming she tried to poison him with tainted Jim Beam whiskey.
Law enforcement sources said Edge was heavily involved in Q-Anon conspiracy theories. Earlier this year, he filed a lawsuit claiming that “LGBTQ White Supremacists” and pedophiles were trying to kill him because’s he’s straight. The lawsuits accuse Southport’s Generations Church — a non-denominational church with a heavy focus on family and mission work — of being in on the plot to kill him, while another suit accused Brunswick Medical Center of trying to kill him. Both suits were dismissed.
Edge has been charged with three counts of first degree murder, five counts of attempted first degree murder, and five counts of assult with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, according to WBTV. Coring said he may face additional charges, The Associated Press reported. He’s being held without bond.
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[Featured image: People place flowers in front of the American Fish Company following a fatal shooting that occurred the night before, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025, in Southport, N.C. (AP Photo/Chris Seward). Inset: Nigel Max Edge/Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office]
