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SOUTHPORT, N.C. (WNCN/AP) — During a Sunday morning news conference, officials at the North Carolina coast delivered an emotional update on a “highly premeditated” mass shooting into a restaurant on the Southport waterfront that left three dead and several others injured Saturday night.
An investigation is being led by the Southport Police Department into the “targeted” deadly shooting by a man from a boat into the American Fish Company on Saturday around 9:30 p.m. near the Southport Yacht Basin, Southport Police Chief Todd Coring said.
According to the Southport Police Department, the Saturday night shooting happened as a boater was traveling on the Cape Fear River before pausing outside of the restaurant. Officials said the person in the boat opened fire, killing and injuring people.
“The boat then fled the area, towards the Intracoastal Waterway in the direction of Oak Island,” officials said.
Nigel Max Edge, 40, was detained by the U.S. Coast Guard in Oak Island. Police, along with the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, searched his home, retrieving multiple firearms as well as the boat in question.
Officials said late Sunday morning that some victims were “fighting for their lives” following the Saturday night shooting.
“I want to circle back to where we started, which is keeping the victims’ families in our thoughts and prayers,” said District 15 Attorney Jon David. “This is truly a devastating incident.”
‘Lone wolf’: Suspect acted alone in Southport shooting
According to Oak Island, officers said in the news conference that they were familiar with Nigel Edge, who lives in Oak Island.
A Southport police spokesperson said Edge is a self-identified combat veteran who was injured in the line of duty and possibly suffers from PTSD. The district attorney said he did not have much of a criminal history in North Carolina, but they are looking into instances in other states.
During the press conference Sunday morning, police said Edge has filed multiple lawsuits against the town and the department over the past couple of years.
The town’s district attorney said Edge frequented the port area of Southport, which contains several bars and restaurants popular with tourists and locals.
When asked about the weapon used in the shooting, officials said they recovered multiple firearms during a search of Edge’s home. Southport police said Edge used at least an assault rifle and they are looking into whether or not more weapons were used.
Edge is charged with three counts of first-degree murder, five counts of attempted first-degree murder and five counts of assault with a deadly weapon.
Victims at American Fish Company
The news conference Sunday at 11 a.m. was filled with sorrows and prayers for the victims injured and dead from this incident.
Officials said most of the victims were attending a live music event at American Fish Company and were sitting on the patio facing the Intercoastal Waterway. According to officials, the shooter opened fire on the victims — many of whom were visiting the area on vacation.
“The thread that connects the victims in this case is that they love live music,” the district attorney said. “Most of the victims were on vacation and not residents of Southport.”
Among the five people hospitalized with injuries, at least one “is now clinging for their life,” David said.
Roughly half an hour after the shooting, a U.S. Coast Guard crew spotted a man matching the suspect’s description pulling a boat from the water at a public ramp on Oak Island. The person was detained and turned over to Southport police for questioning, officials said.
The identities of the shooting victims are withheld from the public until their families have been notified, according to officials. They said most of them have families outside of North Carolina.
Officials are still looking to the public for help in their investigation and ask that if anyone has information or video of the shooting to give them a call 910-457-7911 or submit a tip online at https://cityofsouthport.com/police-department/tip-line/.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
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Starletta Watson
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