(NewsNation) — The three people killed during a shooting last weekend at a waterfront bar in North Carolina have been identified as two out-of-state residents and a third who had recently moved to the coastal town.
Local officials released the names of the victims who died from Saturday night’s shootings at the American Fish Company in Southport, located about 30 miles south of Wilmington. Five others were injured. City spokesperson ChyAnn Ketchum said late Wednesday it was her understanding that the five remained hospitalized.
The city identified those killed as Joy Rogers, 64, of Southport; Solomon Banjo, 36, of Charlottesville, Virginia; and Michael Durbin, 56, of Galena, Ohio. The names of those wounded weren’t released.
Soon after the shootings, authorities arrested Nigel Edge, a decorated veteran and Purple Heart recipient.
Edge, who changed his name from Sean William Debevoise in 2023, 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 previously called a “highly premeditated” targeted attack. An arrest warrant alleged that Edge used an AR-style rifle with a silencer and scope.
Edge was 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 injuries. He appeared in court Monday but didn’t enter a plea.
The county’s top prosecutor described the defendant Edge as having “significant mental health issues” after experiencing a traumatic brain injury. Edge told police he was injured in combat and suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Edge is an ex-Marine who was wounded in the head, hip, ankle and shoulder while serving in Iraq in 2006, The Associated Press reports.
He told Wilmington Star-News in 2017 that he was left for dead after being shot four times during a raid on a warehouse.
The U.S. Marines said Edge served for nearly six years and was deployed as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2005 and 2006, where he rose to the rank of sergeant.
He received a Purple Heart, a medal given to military members who are wounded or killed in action. He was also awarded a Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, Combat Action Ribbon (Iraq) and Iraq Campaign Medal with two bronze stars.
Edge arrived in North Carolina after a Veterans Affairs hospital in Florida told him that he would be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. He recovered, and by 2017, Edge was able to walk again with a cane or walker.
Charlie Morris, Oak Island police chief, said that Edge had previously filed several lawsuits against the town and the police department in years past.
NewsNation’s Rob Taub contributed to this report.