Southport first responders reflect on deadly shooting one year later

SOUTHPORT, NC (WWAY) — As Southport approaches the one-year anniversary of a deadly shooting that shook the waterfront community, the first responders who witnessed it are reflecting on the chaos of that night, the lives lost and the community’s response in the days that followed.

“Just a bad situation that we never would have thought would come to Southport,” said Southport Fire Chief Charles Drew.

Drew said Sept. 27, 2025, started like a typical busy Saturday night at American Fish Company on the Southport waterfront.

Then, around 9:30 p.m., the first 911 calls came in.

Shots had been fired. Multiple people were injured. An active threat remained on the water.

For Drew and Southport EMS, the scene quickly became chaotic as first responders worked to treat the victims.

“They immediately started rendering aid and trying to help those that were in bad condition, and they started triaging patients; it was, to them, a scene that nobody wants to see,” said Drew.

Southport Police Chief Todd Coring said nothing could have prepared him for what he encountered as he arrived.

“It was kind of a shock, and it’s kind of numb, and then I remember turning the corner there on Bay Street and seeing all of the first responders; our fire and EMS was staged and pulling in, and going around them and getting there, it was just kind of hard to imagine and understand at the time,” said Coring.

Three people were killed, and multiple others were injured. As first responders treated victims, law enforcement agencies from across the region joined the search for the shooter.

“We train for these types of things. We’re fortunate to have the Coast Guard that sits right across the river from Southport; they were notified pretty much immediately, as well as our Sheriff’s Office, marine patrol units, so all of those folks played a key role,” said Coring.

Nigel Edge, a wounded war veteran from Oak Island, was taken into custody and faces multiple counts of first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder.

But for the Southport community, the response did not end when the emergency scene was cleared.

In the days that followed, residents gathered to mourn the victims, support the families, and stand together in the wake of the tragedy.

Coring said he will never forget the community’s response.

“When I got the call that, ‘Hey, the community wants to pray and gather at the church tonight, I remember getting there for that, and there were probably some over a thousand people in attendance, people standing out in the streets. You know, it spoke volumes to me. I said we’re going to be good; we won’t let this define us. I think people will always remember the incident; we’ll never forget it, but they’re going to look back at how we respond and how we healed, and how pressed and pushed forward,” said Coring.

As for the case against Edge, it remains on hold.

A judge ruled in April that Edge is currently not competent to stand trial and ordered him to undergo treatment.

The state’s decision on whether to pursue the death penalty is also on hold until his competency can be restored.