Prosecutors May Seek Death Penalty in NC Mass Shooting

A decorated Marine veteran charged with firing an assault rifle from a boat at a waterfront bar in North Carolina, killing three people and wounding five, appeared subdued in court Monday as prosecutors said they may seek the death penalty.

• Nigel Edge, 40, a Purple Heart recipient whose last assignment was with a Wounded Warrior battalion, made his first court appearance via video link after Saturday's mass shooting, the AP reports. He's charged with murder, attempted murder, and assault.

• Law enforcement officers "got the confession" from the suspect following his arrest, said North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation Director Chip Hawley at a news conference Monday. He did not elaborate.
• Five people remain hospitalized from the violence in Southport, a historic port town about 30 miles south of Wilmington. None of the victims' identities has been released.
• District Attorney Jon David said his office had yet to review medical records but described Edge as having "significant mental health issues" after experiencing a traumatic brain injury, WECT reports.
• Authorities said Edge piloted a boat close to shore, stopped briefly, and opened fire at a crowd of vacationers and other patrons in what Southport Police Chief Todd Coring called a "highly premeditated" targeted attack.
• David said the motive is still under investigation, ABC News reports. He said the only factor connecting the victims "appears to be a love of having a good time and enjoying all that Southport has to offer."
• Edge requested a court-appointed attorney and declined to comment during his appearance in Brunswick County Court . He showed no obvious emotion as the district attorney said his office would review whether the death penalty is appropriate.
• No plea was entered. Edge was ordered to remain in custody pending his next court hearing, scheduled for Oct. 13.

• Edge told police he was injured in combat and suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, Coring said.
• Edge served in the military from 2003 to 2009, achieving the rank of sergeant in 2007, according to military records. He had deployments in 2005 and 2006 as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
• Details of his injuries were not released. A 2017 news story in the Wilmington Star-News described him as a Marine sniper who said he'd been left for dead after being shot four times, including in the head, during a raid on a warehouse in Iraq in May 2006. The story detailed his efforts to raise money to start a commercial fishing business.
• Oak Island Police Chief Charles Morris said that Edge was known to officers who frequently saw him by the town pier, and that Edge filed "numerous lawsuits" against the department and town in recent years.
• Legal records indicate Edge turned to the court system to air a variety of perceived grievances. Among a number of local and federal lawsuits, one from May 12 accused an area church of trying to make him kill himself because "he is not LGBQT or a pedophile." In another, in 2024, he made numerous claims against his parents, including that they'd falsified a birth certificate "for a feral child."
• Edge was the guest of American Idol star Kellie Picker at the CMT Music Awards in 2012. He later sued her, claiming she had tried to poison him that night.