SOUTHPORT, N.C. — Three people were killed and at least eight others injured after a person on a boat fired shots at a waterfront bar in the coastal North Carolina city of Southport, a city spokeswoman told ABC News.
During a press conference Sunday, authorities said the suspected shooter is Nigel Max Edge, 40, of Oak Island. He is being charged with three counts of first degree murder, five counts of attempted first degree murder, and five counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill or inflict serious injury. More charges are expected.
Edge self-identifies as a combat veteran who was injured and suffers from PTSD, authorities said Sunday.
Five people are still in the hospital. At least one of the victims remains seriously injured.
Edge’s first court appearance is Sunday at 2 p.m. at Brunswick County Courthouse.
The shooting began at the Southport Yacht Basin at about 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, when someone on a boat coming up Cape Fear opened fire on the American Fish Company, an outdoor bar venue, said ChyAnn Ketchum, the city’s public information officer. The boat then proceeded up the Intracoastal Waterway, she said.
Court documents say Edge used a “short barrel AR rifle with suppressor, folding stock, and scope.”
The city posted a notice on its Facebook page warning of “reports of an active shooter” just before 10 p.m. along the waterfront, advising residents to avoid the area and stay in their homes.
“Shortly after 10:00 p.m., the U.S. Coast Guard observed a single individual matching the description of the shooter, loading their boat at the public boat ramp at NE 55th Street in Oak Island,” Ketchum said in a statement.
Southport is a city of about 4,300 people near the mouth of the Cape Fear River.
Source link
