SOUTHPORT, N.C. (BN24) — A gunman opened fire on a crowd of diners at a popular waterfront restaurant in Southport, North Carolina, on Saturday night, killing at least three people and injuring eight others before fleeing by boat, authorities said.
The attack unfolded around 9:30 p.m. near the American Fish Company, a well-known tourist hotspot at the Southport Yacht Basin, according to city spokesperson ChyAnn Ketchum. Witnesses said the suspect, who was alone on board, pulled up to the marina in a white center console boat, fired into the crowd, and then sped away on the Intracoastal Waterway toward Oak Island.
By shortly after 10 p.m., the U.S. Coast Guard spotted a man matching the suspect’s description loading a vessel at a public ramp. He was detained and turned over to the Oak Island Police Department with assistance from the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, officials said. As of early Sunday, he was being questioned as a person of interest, though no charges had been announced.
Southport Police Chief Todd Coring told reporters at a 1 a.m. press conference that investigators were working two crime scenes, one at the marina and another on Oak Island. Coring said it was too soon to determine a motive but stressed that there was “no longer an active threat” to the community. Additional police patrols were deployed in the city as a precaution.
Authorities initially issued an urgent alert to residents, warning of an active shooter and urging people to shelter in place. The Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office confirmed it was assisting in the response alongside multiple agencies. “Please keep all those affected, as well as our first responders, in your thoughts and prayers,” the sheriff’s office posted on social media.
Southport, a coastal town of about 4,000 residents, is located 30 miles south of Wilmington on the Cape Fear River, where the Intracoastal Waterway meets the Atlantic Ocean. The American Fish Company, the restaurant at the center of the attack, is a popular marina hangout known for live music and a view of the waterfront. On Saturday evening, the local band Bacon Grease had been performing for a crowd of patrons when gunfire erupted.
Officials said the investigation remains active and urged anyone with information to contact law enforcement.
Source: dailymail
