Deadly mass shooting at popular North Carolina waterfront bar

A waterfront bar in Southport, North Carolina became the scene of a horrific mass shooting over the weekend.

(NBC)- A waterfront bar in Southport, North Carolina — popular with tourists — became the scene of a horrific mass shooting over the weekend.

Authorities say the suspect, 40-year-old Nigel Max Edge, opened fire from a boat just feet from the deck of the American Fish Company, where dozens of people were gathered for live music. Prosecutors revealed in court that Edge initially planned to carry out the attack on Friday night, but a passing boat interrupted him. Investigators say he returned the next day to execute what police are calling a “highly premeditated” assault.

Witnesses described the chaos as gunfire erupted. “We heard one pop. I looked up, thinking it was fireworks. And then they started coming in a little faster,” one person recalled. Another told reporters about the trauma of seeing victims struck: “To see the carnage, you just never get that out of your head. Somebody shot in the head, sitting there trying to console his wife with her husband dead right beside her.”

Like the suspect in a separate Michigan shooting, Edge is a Marine veteran and Purple Heart recipient who served in Iraq. According to police, he has said he suffers from PTSD.

North Carolina Governor Josh Stein condemned the violence, saying: “One thing is clear; we must do more to prevent these acts of violence. It has to be our top priority.”

The Southport tragedy adds to the grim tally of 324 mass shootings in the U.S. so far this year. Experts warn that attacks motivated by ideology or a desire for notoriety are rising. Criminologist Adam Lankford explained: “There kind of becomes a bit of a snowball effect where there are more violent role models out there, and then those violent role models can inspire new copycat attacks by people who want to be like them.”