A man now in custody and accused of a deadly shooting in North Carolina over the weekend was once publicly linked to a well-known country music artist, attending a major awards ceremony as her guest over a decade ago.
Law enforcement officials have identified Nigel Edge, who previously went by the name Sean DeBevoise, as the suspect in a fatal attack at the American Fish Company saloon in Southport on Saturday, September 27. The incident left three people dead and five others wounded. Authorities described the shooting as a highly premeditated, targeted act carried out by a lone individual.
“We believe this was a targeted location,” Police Chief Todd Coring stated during a Sunday press conference. “He acted alone. This is highly premeditated from what we’re seeing at this time, and we feel that there are no other threats to our community.”
Edge was apprehended by the U.S. Coast Guard while at a public boat ramp in Oak Island. According to arrest warrants, the suspect allegedly used a modified short-barreled AR-style rifle equipped with a suppressor and a scope to carry out the attack from his boat. He now faces three counts of first-degree murder and five counts of attempted murder.
The suspect’s past includes a notable public appearance in 2012, when he attended the CMT Music Awards as the date of singer Kellie Pickler, a former contestant on the television show American Idol. Social media posts from the time show the pair smiling together at the event.
That past connection was later marred by legal action. Earlier this year, Edge filed a lawsuit against Pickler, making a series of unverified claims, including an allegation that she attempted to harm him over a decade prior. In the same filing, he made additional accusations against a local medical center and detailed injuries he said he sustained during a military deployment in 2006.
The recent violence in Southport has shaken the coastal community, with investigators continuing to piece together the motives behind the alleged attack.
