SOUTHPORT — The Southport Board of Aldermen met for the first time this week since a veteran Marine opened fire from his boat at the Southport Yacht Basin 10 days ago. Some became emotional while discussing victims who died or were injured, others commended the unity it prompted throughout the town, and a few called on state lawmakers to do more to help people affected by mental health issues.
READ MORE: ‘Political fireball’: Southport enters legal battle with former mayor over alleyway ownership
Karen Mosteller, weeping and having to pause between words at Monday’s meeting, commended first-responders for saving lives: “The community is gratefully thankful.”
Nigel Max Edge, 40, opened fire around 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 27, killing three people and injuring six. He is being charged with three counts of first-degree murder, five counts of common law-attempted first-degree murder and five counts of assault with a deadly weapon to inflict serious injury or death. More charges are expected to be brought forth, likely at Edge’s probable cause hearing in Brunswick County on Monday, Oct. 13.
Alderman Marc Spencer said the mass shooting is ingrained in the minds of the community, with his colleague, Frank Lai, adding it is something that will “never be erased.”
While Mosteller thanked the community for coming together throughout the tragedy and upholding the victims and families in prayer, she also said this deserves more attention than words. Mosteller suggested drafting a resolution for council to support and send to lawmakers at the state level.
“I would like us to send [it] to legislators and the governor to ask for respectful, honest conversations and respond to the urgent need for expanded mental health resources, especially for veterans and others in crisis,” Mosteller said. “We will remember the names of the lives of people lost and we will honor them through meaningful action.”
Mayor Rich Alt asked her to plan a meeting with newly appointed City Manager Noah Saldo to draft a resolution and bring it back to the board. The mayor also thanked Saldo and staff for immediately being on the scene the night of the shooting, along with law enforcement, including Southport and Oak Island police departments, as well as Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office and the State Bureau of Investigation.
Saldo said there were other people there not in uniform yet also offering aid immediately — “the people at American Fish Company who stepped up to help victims.”
Alderman Rebecca Kelley recognized the Brunswick and New Hanover County first responders who also weren’t physically at the scene. She explained many stopped traffic as ambulances were attempting to reach Southport, to get victims to the hospital more quickly.
“Not because they were asked to,” she said, “but because it was the right thing to do. That speaks volumes for our community and how we come together.”
Alderman Lowe Davis, also a pastor, told the board two church services she helps with remotely on St. Thomas Virgin Islands have had Southport included on their bulletins.
“We are in other people’s thoughts, we are in other people’s prayers and for that we can all be grateful. What we can’t see can still lift us up,’” she said, choking back tears.
Spencer, a lifelong Southport resident, admitted being “shaken to the core” about what he thought living in Southport meant. He said people now question their safety. Like Mosteller, he advocated for more help at the state level and pointed to red flag laws, also mentioned by governor during his visit to Southport on Sept. 29.
Red flag laws are in place in more than 20 states nationwide as of 2021 and allow the court to execute an Extreme Risk Protection Order for authorities to remove firearms from people facing mental health crises and pose a risk to themselves or others.
“We need to promote halfway houses and rehabilitation services — locally Southport cannot be a ‘not in my backyard’ town, where only the successful are welcome,” Spencer suggested, noting this issue is far more important than just growth, building, and zoning. “It’s about the social infrastructure we must build to care for our neighbors.”
He also said the “system” failed Edge — a “troubled young man and casualty of war,” who slipped through the cracks: “He served his country but came home damaged.”
Edge served two Iraq tours, received a Purple Heart, and during deployment, as detailed in his memoir “Headshot,” was struck in the head by friendly fire, with shrapnel remaining in his brain and causing nerve damage. Since returning to civilian life, he has taken out numerous civil lawsuits, including against Oak Island Police Department, Brunswick Medical Center and Generations Church — even country star Kellie Pickler. Some claims include he was being conspired against in an LGBTQ and white supremacist pedophile ring, while others indicate he believed people were attempting to poison him.
According to Spencer, many people in the community were aware of Edge, noting law enforcement officials often spoke about him.
“Numerous phone calls, reports and warnings — the system failed to prevent this tragedy,” he said. “Law enforcement did what they could. They have been warning each other, as recently as spring, about this individual. I know these men and women do the best they can with the best they have — high turnover, low pay make an already difficult job even harder. I believe the Oak Island police tried to intervene but they didn’t have mental health resources that used to exist in our state.”
Alderman Lai agreed something more needed to be done statewide, pointing to the dissolution of Dorothea Dix psychiatric hospital in Raleigh, which made a shift to community-based treatment and closed in 2012. He explained having relatives who work with veterans in mental health and often express feeling “overwhelmed.”
“And we choose to ignore it until something tragic happens,” Lai said. “In a country with the resources we have and we choose not to help someone with a mental issue: Shame on us.”
Also moved by emotion, Alderman Robert Carroll pushed on the importance of working together more, even as council makes tough votes. That includes “not undermining” decisions made for the community, he said.
Kelley thanked him for saying as much and agreed, noting despite disagreements and arguments that may unfold at the aldermen’s dais, they often find a “middle ground.”
She also invited the community to Oct. 18’s Day of Healing and Hope, to be held at the Southport Yacht Basin, noon to 7 p.m. It will feature seven bands, raffles, and more. All proceeds benefit people impacted by the tragedy, including victims, families and employees of American Fish Company, which closed indefinitely after the shooting.
The victims of the shooting are:
- Joy Rogers, 64, of Southport (deceased)
- Solomon Banjo, 36, of Charlottesville, VA (deceased)
- Michael Durbin, 56, of Galena, OH (deceased)
- Jackson Schurtz, 38, Afton, VA
- William Parent, 64, Oak Island, NC
- John Barlow, 63, Amityville, NY
- Lauren Buscher, 54, Wheaton, IL
- Thomas Lafferty, 58, Oak Island, NC
- Tammy Hirt-Huff, 59, Oak Island, NC
Want to read more from PCD? Subscribe now and then sign up for our morning newsletter, Wilmington Wire, and get the headlines delivered to your inbox every morning.
