Arrest made after boater opens fire on North Carolina waterfront bar killing 3, injuring 5: Official
A suspect has been arrested in a shooting that left three people dead and eight others injured when a gunman on a boat opened fire with an assault rifle on a waterfront bar in the coastal North Carolina city of Southport, a city spokeswoman told ABC News.
The suspect, Nigel Edge, of Oak Island, North Carolina, has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder and five counts of attempted murder, Southport Police Chief Todd Coring said at a news conference on Sunday. Edge is also charged with five counts of attempted murder with a deadly weapon with intent to kill or injure, Coring said.
Edge is being held without bail at the Brunswick County Jail and his first court appearance is scheduled for Monday.
"Evil has come ashore in Southport, North Carolina. Ironically enough, at the very place which once served as a backdrop to the movie 'Safe Haven,'" said Jon David, the local district attorney, referring to the 2013 movie staring Julianne Hough and Josh Duhamel.
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.
David said most of victims shot were tourists visiting the town.
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. The city initially said that three people were killed and eight were injured.
Chief Coring said witnesses described seeing a white center console boat fleeing the scene.
Coring said that shortly after 10 p.m., the U.S. Coast Guard observed a single individual matching the description of the shooter.
An assault rifle was used in the shooting, he added.
The chief described the incident as a "targeted shooting" and by a "lone wolf" gunman.
A motive for the shooting remains under investigation.
Coring asks that any witnesses who were at the bar on Friday and Saturday, especially anyone with video, to contact police immediately.
Southport is a city of about 4,300 people near the mouth of the Cape Fear River.
