At least three people are dead and eight others are injured after a gunman on a boat opened fire at a waterfront bar in North Carolina.
At around 9:30 p.m. local time on Saturday, Sept. 27, police responded to calls of “shots fired with multiple injuries” at the American Fish Company in Southport, the Southport Police Department (SPD) said in a news release.
“Just prior, a boat with a single occupant traveling on the Cape Fear River, paused briefly at the American Fish Company and opened fire, fatally wounding three patrons, and injuring at least eight others,” police stated. “The boat then fled the area, towards the Intracoastal Waterway in the direction of Oak Island.”
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Police announced on Facebook that there was an “active shooter” in the Southport Yacht Basin and urged people in the area to “remain in your homes.”
Around 30 minutes after the shooting, the U.S. Coast Guard identified a single suspect who was “loading their boat at the public boat ramp at NE 55th Street in Oak Island,” per the police news release. The suspect was detained for questioning by the Oak Island Police Department.
Authorities later identified the suspect as Nigel Max Edge. Police said in a press release obtained by PEOPLE that he was arrested and charged with three counts of first-degree murder, five counts of attempted first-degree murder and five counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, inflicting serious injury.
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No other suspects are believed to be involved in the shooting, according to police.
Photos from the scene show several police cars and fire trucks outside the American Fish Company as first responders aided the injured.