1:48
- ABC News
- October 1, 2025
Questions linger in back-to-back mass shootings
The separate attacks combined left seven people dead and more than a dozen hurt.
1:48
The North Carolina attack occurred around 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, about 12 hours before the Michigan mass shooting, and investigators alleged it was carried out by 40-year-old Nigel Edge, whom they described as a \"lone wolf,\" who opened fire from a boat on an outdoor waterfront bar in Southport, killing three people and injuring five others.
\"We believe this was a targeted location,\" Southport Police Chief Todd Coring said during a news conference on Sunday. \"This is highly premeditated from what we're seeing at this time.\"
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/US/Nigel-Edge-ht-gmh-250929_1759156436963_hpMain_4x3t_384.jpg\")
But Coring and other law enforcement officials have yet to release more details on the possible motive.
Edge was detained shortly after the shooting in nearby Oak Island as he was loading his boat at a public boat ramp, officials said.
Edge is charged with three counts of first-degree murder, five counts of attempted murder; and five counts of assault with a deadly weapon with the intent to kill or injure, officials said. He has yet to enter a plea to the charges and was appointed a public defender during his first court appearance on Monday.
Prosecutors said they are weighing whether to pursue the death penalty against Edge.
Edge was awarded the Purple Heart after being wounded in combat, according to the U.S. Marine Corps.
The suspect legally changed his name in 2023 from Sean Debevoise, writing in a petition to the court, \"There have been a lot of events in my life that I don't understand. Therefore, I do not trust my family, and I would feel more comfortable starting my life in a new path with a new name.\"
Investigators said in a criminal complaint that Edge opened fire on the Southport bar with a short-barrel AR rifle that was equipped with a suppressor, a scope and a folding stock. Authorities have yet to disclose how many shots were fired in the incident.
In the Michigan attack, officials have only described the weapon allegedly used by Sanford as an \"assault rifle.\"
Authorities haven't said publicly how either Edge or Sanford obtained their weapons. Authorities have also not commented on how long they believe each suspect planned their respective attacks.
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/US/nc-boat-shooting-hd-bh-250928_1759068779059_hpMain_4x3t_384.jpg\")
After he was arrested, Edge told investigators that he was injured in the line of duty as a Marine and said that he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, according to Coring.
Jon David, the local district attorney, said at a news conference on Sunday that Edge had some minor contacts with law enforcement, \"but nothing significant in his past which would give us any indication that he was capable of such horror.\"
During a news conference on Monday, officials in Michigan said Sanford had prior arrests for burglary and operating a vehicle while intoxicated.
Authorities have not disclosed if either Edge or Sanford had any previous connections to the targets they allegedly attacked.
In the Michigan shooting, witnesses said they did not recognize Sanford as someone associated with the chapel.
In the Southport shooting, authorities have not said why Edge allegedly opened fire on the American Fish Company bar or if he was a patron of the establishment. But Coring asked that anyone who was at the bar on Friday, the day before the shooting, or Saturday night to contact investigators immediately.
Regarding the Michigan attack, investigators recovered four improvised explosive devices from the pickup truck Sanford allegedly used to plow into the LDS chapel, James Deir, the special agent in charge of the Detroit field office of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said on Monday.
ABC News has learned from sources familiar with the investigation that the IEDs were made from consumer-grade fireworks.
Investigators believe the suspect allegedly set the chapel ablaze after dousing it with gasoline, but it remains unclear what the suspect planned to do with the IEDs.
Investigators have also not commented on the possible meaning of the American flags the Michigan suspect had attached to the rear bed of the pickup truck used in the attack.
Deir said the ATF's National Response team, comprised of a cadre of world-renowned arson and explosive investigators, are involved in the investigation.
ABC News' Andy Fies and Alex Perez contributed to this report.
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