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\"Some facts that we have at this time are that we believe this was a targeted location. It appears that he acted as what we call a 'lone wolf.' He acted alone,\" Southport Police Chief Todd Coring said at the news conference. \"This is highly premeditated from what we're seeing at this time.\"

Edge was detained by the Coast Guard about a half-hour after the 10:25 p.m. shooting, when he was spotted loading his boat at a public boat ramp in Oak Island, North Carolina, just a few nautical miles from the crime scene, officials said. After being questioned by investigators, Edge was arrested and charged with the shooting.

\"PHOTO:
Southport Police Dept.
PHOTO: Suspected gunman Nigel Edge of shown in this booking photo released by police, September 28, 2025.
>

\"We understand that this suspect identifies as a combat veteran. He self-identifies. Injured in the line of duty is what he's saying. He suffers from PTSD. We want to point those facts out,\" Coring said.

Marine officials did not release details on the circumstances that led to Edge being awarded the Purple Heart, but did disclose that his last duty assignment was with the Wounded Warriors Battalion East.

Jon David, the local district attorney, said during Sunday's news conference that more charges could be filed against Edge and that his office is considering the death penalty.

\"I will say that North Carolina is a state for which the death penalty is a potential, and my office does seek it in appropriate cases,\" David said. \"I have a team of senior prosecutors that meets as part of a death penalty review committee, and we make sure that we thoroughly evaluate the facts and the law on a case-by-case basis.\"

A motive for the Southport shooting remains under investigation. However, David said finding a motive is not essential to prosecuting the suspect.

\"People frequently want to know what happened and why. As prosecutors in a courtroom, we have to prove intent. Intent and motive are very different things,\" David said. \"We don't actually have to prove motive. We don't know why people do what they do.\"

David added that the thread connecting the victims in the shooting \"appears to be a love of having a good time and enjoying all that Southport has to offer.\"

\"Sadly, a lot of the victims in this case appear to be not members of our community, but people who were here on vacation,\" David said.

He said that other than a few minor brushes with the law, Edge \"wasn't quite as well known in the criminal court system.\"

\"There are some minor contacts over the years, but nothing significant in his past which would give us any indication that he was capable of such horror,\" David said.

During a visit to Southport on Monday, North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein, a Democrat, praised local law enforcement and the Coast Guard for apprehending the suspect \"essentially within minutes of the attack.\"

\"Your excellent police work may have saved additional lives,\" Stein said at a news conference in Southport.

The governor said Southport is one of numerous cities across the country reeling from acts of violence over the past few weeks, including the Aug. 22 stabbing death Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on the light rail in Charlotte; the Sept. 10 fatal shooting of conservative political activist Charlie Kirk at a Utah university; and the attack at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Michigan on Sunday that left four people dead.

\"One thing is clear: we must do more to prevent these acts of violence. It has to be our top priority,\" Stein said.

He said the recent acts of horrific violence across the country \"are a clarion call telling us that we have to work to make sure that people are both actually safe and that they feel safe in their communities.\"

Stein said in many of the instances of recent violence, they were perpetrated by individuals suffering from a mental health crisis.

“We must fix our broken mental health care system. We know that the vast majority of folks with mental health challenges pose no risks to others, but some can,\" Stein said. \"There are too many people in our communities with dangerous obsessions, exhibiting threatening behavior, who do pose risks. We have got to do better, and I will do everything that I can, and I will work with anyone and everyone who is serious about protecting the people of this state.\"

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