Prosecutors announced on Wednesday they will seek the death penalty for former Marine Nigel Max Edge after he was charged with killing three people at a North Carolina bar in a mass shooting last year.
Edge faces three counts of first-degree murder, among other charges, after he was accused of piloting a motorboat up to a waterfront bar in Southport in September 2025 and opening fire on patrons.
Brunswick County District Attorney Jon David said this week that he will seek the death penalty for Edge. He conceded that Edge sustained brain injuries from his time fighting as a Marine in the Iraq War, but argued the veteran should still suffer the consequences of his actions. Edge’s next hearing is scheduled for Dec. 7, according to the Associated Press.
“We are not blind to who this defendant is,” David said. “He served this country in Iraq as a Marine, suffered a traumatic brain injury, and has struggled with serious mental illness. Those facts are important, and they were weighed, but must be balanced against the circumstances of the crime.”
Several other people sustained injuries during the shooting, besides the three killed during the incident on Sept. 27, 2025.
Edge served on an elite sniper unit in Iraq when he was shot four times, including once in the head. He served nearly six years in the Marines and was awarded a Purple Heart. He has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and still has a bullet lodged in his brain, according to family.
Court proceedings for the case were postponed in April, when Superior Court Judge Jason Disbrow ordered that Edge be transferred to a state psychiatric facility after authorities said the veteran lacked the mental capacity to proceed to trial.
At the time of the shooting, North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation Director Chip Hawley said law enforcement officers “got the confession” from Edge following his arrest. Authorities said the shooting appeared “highly premeditated.”
“Some facts that we have at this time are that we believe this was a targeted location. It appears that he acted as what we call a ‘lone wolf.’ He acted alone,” Southport Police Chief Todd Coring said at a press conference. “This is highly premeditated from what we’re seeing at this time.”
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“We understand that 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. We want to point those facts out,” Coring added.
Edge was born in New York and changed his name from Sean DeBevoise in 2023.