The suspect accused of opening fire on a waterfront restaurant in North Carolina on Saturday once walked the red carpet at the CMT Music Awards as the special guest of American Idol star Kellie Pickler. Back in 2012, Nigel Edge—a former Marine then known as Sean DeBevoise—escorted Pickler to the awards show in uniform, accompanied by his service dog, per the New York Post. At the time, both spoke warmly of their friendship, having met through a charity event for troops. Edge, wounded during his service in Iraq, praised Pickler as "the most sincere person I know."
That connection soured in recent years. In February, Edge—who changed his name in 2023, per TMZ—filed a lawsuit against Pickler, claiming she tried to poison him with whiskey during their awards show night. He alleged he survived only because he refused the drink. The suit is one of several eccentric legal actions Edge has filed, including claims that a church, medical center, pedophiles, and "LGBTQ White Supremacists," conspired to kill him. The lawsuits were dismissed.
Edge's recent book, Headshot: Betrayal of a Nation, details combat injuries from a 2006 attack and continues a narrative of being the target of elaborate plots. His increasingly erratic behavior—culminating in the shooting—has left residents and investigators searching for answers. The 39-year-old was arrested Saturday after allegedly opening fire at a crowded dockside restaurant in Southport, leaving three dead and five injured. Authorities say Edge, who reportedly suffers from PTSD and subscribes to conspiracy theories, fired an assault weapon from a boat, per the Democrat Gazette.
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