A decorated Marine veteran charged with firing an assault rifle from a boat at a waterfront bar in North Carolina, killing three people and wounding five, appeared subdued in court Monday as prosecutors said they may seek the death penalty.
Nigel Edge, 40, a Purple Heart recipient whose last assignment was with a Wounded Warrior battalion, made his first court appearance via video link after Saturday’s mass shooting. He’s charged with murder, attempted murder and assault.
Law enforcement officers “got the confession” from the suspect following his arrest, said North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation Director Chip Hawley at a news conference Monday. He did not elaborate.
Five people remained hospitalized from the violence in Southport, a historic port town about 30 miles (48 kilometers) south of Wilmington. None of the victims’ identities have been released.
On Sunday, another 40-year-old former Marine crashed a pickup into a Michigan church during services, shot into the building and set it ablaze, killing four people and wounding eight. It was the second mass shooting in the U.S. in less than 24 hours.
‘Highly premediated’ attack
District Attorney Jon David said his office had yet to review medical records but described Edge as having “significant mental health issues” after experiencing a traumatic brain injury, according to WECT News.
Authorities said Edge piloted a boat close to shore, stopped briefly and opened fire at a crowd of vacationers and other patrons in what Southport Police Chief Todd Coring called a “highly premeditated” targeted attack. A charging document says he used an AR-style rifle with a silencer and scope.
He was arrested about a half an hour later after a U.S. Coast Guard crew spotted him pulling a boat from the water at a public ramp on Oak Island, where he lives.
Edge requested a court-appointed attorney and declined to comment during his appearance in Brunswick County Court, WECT News reported. He showed no obvious emotion as the district attorney said his office would review whether the death penalty is appropriate.
No plea was entered. Edge was ordered to remain in custody pending his next court hearing, scheduled for Oct. 13.
Name change and legal disputes
Edge, who was born in Suffern, New York, and changed his name from Sean DeBevoise in 2023, told police he was injured in combat and suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, Southport’s police chief said.
Oak Island Police Chief Charles Morris said Edge was known to officers who frequently saw him by the town pier, and that Edge filed “numerous lawsuits” against the department and town in recent years. In one, he sought body camera video from an encounter after his boat trailer was vandalized.
Legal records indicate Edge turned to the court system to air a variety of perceived grievances.
Among a number of local and federal lawsuits, one from May 12 accused an area church of trying to make him commit suicide because “he is not LGBQT or a pedophile.”
In another, in 2024, he made numerous claims against his parents, including that they’d falsified a birth certificate “for a feral child.”
“Plaintiff suffers from war injuries and he suffers from delusions and PTSD. The VA needs to take care of him!!!” his mother, Sandra Lynn DeBevoise, wrote in response.
The DeBevoises could not be reached for comment Monday. Telephone listings could not be located.
In his petition to change his name, he gave this reason: “There have been alot 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.”
Military deployment and combat injuries
Edge served in the military from 2003-2009, achieving the rank of sergeant in 2007, according to military records, which list his specialties as assault man and reconnaissance man. He had deployments in 2005 and 2006 as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom and was awarded a Purple Heart, a medal given to those wounded or killed in action. Other awards include a Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, Combat Action Ribbon (Iraq) and Iraq Campaign Medal with two bronze stars, which denote time spent in Iraq.
His last duty assignment was with Wounded Warrior Battalion East, II Marine Expeditionary Force in Camp Lejeune, records show. The battalions’ mission is to maximize recovery and ensure a smooth transition, whether returning to duty or civilian life, military officials said.
Details of his injuries were not released. A 2017 news story in the Wilmington Star-News described DeBevoise as a Marine sniper who said he’d been left for dead after being shot four times, including in the head, during a raid on a warehouse in Iraq in May 2006. The story detailed his efforts to raise money to start a commercial fishing business.
A public profile
A 2012 post on singer Kellie Pickler’s X account appears to show her with a picture of the suspect in a Marine uniform at the Country Music Awards. The photo, first reported by the New York Post, was captioned: “Me and my date (Sgt Sean Debevoise).”
Pickler could not be reached for comment.
Mental health and gun laws
Gov. Josh Stein said the weekend shootings were further proof of the need for improvements to “fix our broken mental health care system.”
“We know that the vast majority of folks with mental health challenges pose no risk 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.”
The North Carolina legislature passed a criminal justice reform bill last week in the wake of the stabbing death of a Ukrainian refugee on a Charlotte commuter train that in part includes a greater emphasis upon defendants who need mental health examinations. Stein hasn’t yet said whether he’d let the bill become law or veto it.
The legislation lacks a “red flag” law pushed by Democrats for years that would allow a judge to take guns away temporarily from a person whom a judge has found to be a grave risk to the community or themselves. Stein said he thinks such a law is a good idea, although he didn’t know whether it would have been triggered in this case.
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Breed reported reported from Raleigh, N.C. Thompson reported from Buffalo, N.Y. Gary Robertson contributed from Raleigh, N.C.
By CAROLYN THOMPSON and ALLEN G. BREED
Associated Press
