NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
A gunman accused of carrying out an ambush at a North Carolina waterfront restaurant, killing three people and wounding eight more, may have been thwarted the night before when a bar patron’s video captured him lurking in the water.
Authorities say Nigel Max Edge, 40, carried out a “highly premeditated” ambush Saturday night at the American Fish Company, a waterfront restaurant and bar in Southport. Police say Edge allegedly opened fire from a boat just off the deck, killing three people, including Joy Rogers, a recently retired mother of three.
But according to newly reviewed cellphone video, obtained by PEOPLE, the suspect may have first attempted the assault on Friday, during a performance by local musician Dane Britt.
Britt’s wife, according to PEOPLE, stepped outside during the concert to record a video when her camera captured a boat shrouded in darkness in the water.
People place flowers in front of the American Fish Company following a fatal shooting that occurred the night before, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025, in Southport, N.C. (Chris Seward/AP Photo)
RETIRED MOM AMONG 3 KILLED IN ‘PREMEDITATED’ NORTH CAROLINA WATERFRONT RESTAURANT MASSACRE
“She noticed a man on board who ducked behind something when she pointed the camera toward him,” Britt told the outlet, adding that prosecutors now believe the suspect was Edge, lying in wait. “I’m absolutely convinced her filming made him call it off. That video saved lives.”
The following night, the suspect returned to the popular waterfront spot and carried out the ambush, authorities said. Investigators revealed that Edge allegedly used a .300 Blackout Sig Sauer rifle equipped with a suppressor and scope, and also carried a .380 handgun.
Two deputies responded on a sheriff’s department boat after the shooting, later spotting Edge as he walked to retrieve his boat trailer, authorities said. Deputies moved in and detained him as he backed the trailer in to pull his vessel from the water.
Nigel Max Edge was charged with three counts of first-degree murder and five counts of attempted first-degree murder in connection with the shooting at American Fish Company restaurant in Southport, North Carolina, on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025. (Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office)
He is facing three counts of first-degree murder, along with multiple counts of attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon. A judge denied bond, citing him as both a flight risk and a danger to the community. Edge is scheduled to return to court on Oct. 13 for a probable cause hearing. He requested a public defender.
“Had she not been out there with that camera,” Britt told PEOPLE, “there’s no telling how many more people would be dead today.”
Living Word Bible Church in North Carolina identified one of the victims in the Sept. 27 waterfront restaurant mass shooting as Joy Rogers. (Living Word Bible Church)
ACTIVE SHOOTER REPORTED AT NORTH CAROLINA DOCKSIDE WITH RESTAURANTS AND BARS
Family and friends are mourning the victims, including Rogers, who had recently moved to Southport from California to begin her retirement with her husband, Lennie.
“She was a devoted wife, a loving mother and a friend to everyone she met,” her church community said in a statement.
Police Chief Todd Coring said Sunday that Edge has post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Coring said that he “self-identifies” as a veteran. Fox News Digital has reached out to the Department of Defense for comment.
“We understand 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,” Coring said.
Joey Whitaker from Holden Beach plays “Amazing Grace” on the bagpipes in front of the American Fish Company following a fatal shooting that occurred here the night before, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025, in Southport, N.C. (Chris Seward/AP Photo)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Court documents reviewed by Fox News Digital revealed that Edge espoused anti-LGBTQ conspiracy theories. He also accused his parents of being “LGBQT White Supremacist Pedophiles” who falsified his birth certificate, drugged him and tried to profit from him, while tying his alleged mistreatment to the Iraq War, the Abu Ghraib scandal and the Jeffrey Epstein case.