A mass shooting in Southport on Sept. 27, 2025, killed three people, wounded multiple others and shook an entire community.
It has been almost a year since the first and only mass shooting the city of Southport experienced, a place some call the "real-life Hallmark town." While some of the city has healed, some continue to re-examine the day.
Here's a timeline of events that took place in the first 48 hours of the incident on Sept. 27, 2025.
Around 9:30 p.m.
A boat with a single occupant was traveling the Cape Fear River before dropping anchor at the American Fish Company dock. The boater open fired into a crowd during a concert, then fled up the Intracoastal Waterway toward Oak Island.
The shooting injured multiple people and killed three patrons: Solomon Banjo,
36, of Charlottesville, Virginia; Joy Rogers, 64, of Southport, and Michael Durbin, 56, of Galena, Ohio.
9:53 p.m.
City of Southport releases notice of an active shooter in the Southport Yacht Basin area.
Around 10 p.m.
The U.S. Coast Guard observed a single individual matching the shooter's identity, loading their boat up at the public boat ramp at NE 55th Street on Oak Island. The Coast Guard detained the suspect until the Oak Island Police Department took him into custody and transferred him to the Southport Police Department for questioning.
Edge was found with a .380 handgun in his waistband and an assault rifle with a suppressor in the boat. Three gun magazines with ballistic tips were also in the boat.
Sept. 28 afternoon
Southport officials confirmed that Nigel Max Edge, 40, of Oak Island was arrested and charged with three counts of first-degree murder and five counts of common law-attempted first-degree murder.
Sept. 29 morning
During Edge's first court appearance on Sept. 29, district attorney representatives stated Edge's actions were premeditated because a boater found Edge the night of Sept. 26 with a boat parked at American Fish Company with the lights off.
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Savanna Tenenoff covers Brunswick County for the StarNews. Reach her at stenenoff@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Timeline of the Southport mass shooting tragedy
