Prosecutors announced Wednesday that they will pursue the death penalty against a former Marine accused of killing three people and injuring several others in a mass shooting last year.
Brunswick County District Attorney Jon David said officials considered defendant Nigel Max Edge’s military service, traumatic brain injury and history of serious mental illness before making the decision.
“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.”
Authorities allege that on Sept. 27, 2025, Edge drove a small motorboat to a dockside cocktail bar in Southport and opened fire with a short-barreled semiautomatic rifle. He is charged with three counts of first-degree murder, along with multiple counts of attempted murder and weapons offenses.
Edge was ordered in April by Superior Court Judge Jason Disbrow to receive psychiatric treatment after being found unable to understand the court proceedings sufficiently to assist his attorneys.
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His attorney, Matthew Geoffrion, asked Wednesday to postpone the hearing, saying Edge’s severe brain injury could ultimately prevent him from standing trial. Edge was shot several times while serving in Iraq, including once in the head.
“The chances of capacity restoration in this case appear low,” Geoffrion wrote in the motion.
David disputed that assessment, saying specialists at the state hospital treating Edge have determined that he is likely to regain competency. Still, the prosecutor emphasized that the capital-punishment decision remains subject to review.
“A capital designation guarantees the defendant the highest level of protection our system offers, including the appointment of a second qualified attorney and the most rigorous scrutiny our courts provide,” David said.
He added that prosecutors would reconsider the case if new evidence addresses Edge’s mental state when the shooting occurred. If Edge is never restored to competency, David said, the death penalty would not be legally available and would be removed from consideration.
Edge is scheduled to return to court for his next hearing on Dec. 7.