On the night of September 27, 2025, the tranquil waterfront of Southport, North Carolina, was shattered by a sudden, deadly burst of violence. According to the Associated Press, Nigel Edge, a 40-year-old decorated Marine Corps veteran and Purple Heart recipient, opened fire from a boat with an assault rifle at the American Fish Company, a popular dockside restaurant. The attack left three people dead and five others wounded, sending shockwaves through this historic port town located about 30 miles south of Wilmington.
Edge, who had moved to the area and lived on nearby Oak Island, was arrested roughly thirty minutes after the shooting. The U.S. Coast Guard spotted him as he was pulling his boat from the water at a public ramp, a detail confirmed by local law enforcement and reported by multiple outlets, including AP and WECT News. Edge was taken into custody without incident, and authorities soon revealed that he faced a barrage of serious charges: three counts of first-degree murder, five counts of attempted first-degree murder, and five counts of assault with a deadly weapon. He was denied bond and transported to the Brunswick County Detention Center, where he remains awaiting his next hearing scheduled for October 13, 2025.
The victims’ identities had not been released as of Monday, September 29, but the impact of the tragedy was immediate and profound. Five people remained hospitalized, their conditions undisclosed, as the community grappled with the aftermath. Southport Police Chief Todd Coring described the shooting as a “highly premeditated” and targeted attack, emphasizing the calculated nature of Edge’s actions. According to court documents cited by Connecting Vets, Edge used a short-barreled AR-style rifle outfitted with a suppressor, folding stock, and scope—details that underscore the planning involved.
Edge’s background is as complex as it is troubled. Born in Suffern, New York, he served in the Marine Corps from 2003 to 2009, achieving the rank of sergeant in 2007. His military record, verified by the New York Post and a U.S. military spokesperson, is full of commendations: the Purple Heart, Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, Combat Action Ribbon (Iraq), Iraq Campaign Medal with two bronze stars, Humanitarian Service Medal, and several others. He was deployed to Iraq in 2005 and again in 2006, with his final assignment at Camp Lejeune’s Wounded Warrior Battalion East. The battalion’s mission, as military officials explained, is to help wounded service members recover and transition back to duty or civilian life.
Yet, the scars of war ran deep for Edge. He reportedly suffered a traumatic brain injury in May 2006, the result of friendly fire during a raid in Iraq. In a book he wrote under his former name, Sean DeBevoise, titled "Headshot: Betrayal of a Nation," Edge recounted being shot four times, including in the head, and left for dead. He also claimed to have survived two separate IED attacks during the same deployment. "I felt hatred towards the Marines that were there that night," he wrote. "I hoped that all of this happened for some reason; the War on Terror. I hoped that I didn’t sacrifice myself and my friends senselessly." These experiences, he said, left him with lasting physical and psychological wounds.
Edge’s struggles did not end with his military service. In 2023, he legally changed his name from Sean DeBevoise to Nigel Edge, citing a desire to start anew and a lack of trust in his family. His legal record reveals a pattern of increasingly bizarre and conspiratorial lawsuits. As reported by local news and Connecting Vets, he filed numerous suits against local authorities, a church, and even his own parents. In one 2025 lawsuit, Edge accused a church of conspiring with the LGBTQ community and white supremacist pedophiles to try to make him commit suicide because he was “a straight man.” Another lawsuit targeted Brunswick Medical Center, alleging a conspiracy by “LGBTQ White Supremacists” who he believed were out to get him because he survived their attack in Iraq. Both of these lawsuits were dismissed with prejudice. His mother, Sandra Lynn DeBevoise, responded in court filings that her son "suffers from war injuries and he suffers from delusions and PTSD. The VA needs to take care of him!!!" Attempts to reach the DeBevoise family for comment were unsuccessful.
Law enforcement was not unfamiliar with Edge. Oak Island Police Chief Charles Morris said Edge was frequently seen by the town pier and had filed “numerous lawsuits” against the department and town in recent years. In one instance, he requested body camera footage after his boat trailer was vandalized. Legal records indicate that Edge had increasingly turned to the courts to address a variety of perceived grievances, reflecting a deepening sense of paranoia and isolation.
In the wake of the shooting, North Carolina Governor Josh Stein visited Southport and addressed the urgent need for better mental health care and gun safety laws. “We must fix our broken mental health system,” Stein stated at a press conference, as reported by AP. “We know that the vast majority of folks with mental health challenges pose no risk to others, but some can. There are too many people in our communities with dangerous obsessions, exhibiting threatening behavior.” Stein pointed to the broader context of rising violence, referencing a mass shooting in Michigan just a day after the Southport attack, and a recent deadly stabbing on Charlotte’s light rail system.
Stein has been a proponent of a “red flag” law, which would allow judges to temporarily remove firearms from individuals deemed at risk of violence. The North Carolina legislature recently passed a criminal justice reform bill with greater emphasis on mental health evaluations for defendants, but it stopped short of including such a provision. Stein said he supports the idea, though he admitted it was unclear whether it would have prevented this particular tragedy.
District Attorney Jon David, meanwhile, described Edge as having “significant mental health issues” following his traumatic brain injury, according to WECT News. Prosecutors have not yet decided whether to seek the death penalty, but the possibility remains on the table. Edge appeared subdued and unemotional during his initial court appearance, declining to enter a plea and requesting a court-appointed attorney.
The Southport tragedy is part of a disturbing pattern: it was one of two mass shootings allegedly committed by Iraq War veterans in the same weekend. In Michigan, another Marine veteran drove a vehicle into a church, opened fire, and set the building ablaze, killing four people and wounding eight before being killed himself. These incidents have reignited national debates about the intersection of military trauma, mental health, and gun violence.
As the investigation continues and the community mourns, questions linger about Edge’s path from decorated war hero to accused mass murderer. The story is a stark reminder of the invisible wounds many veterans carry home and the urgent need for systems that can recognize and address those wounds before tragedy strikes again.
