Southport Mass Shooting Suspect Nigel Edge Received Purple Heart After Completing 2 Marine Tours in Iraq

The man who allegedly conducted a deadly mass shooting in Southport, N.C., was a highly decorated Marine and veteran of the Iraq War.

Nigel Edge, who was born Sean DeBevoise before changing his name in 2023, additionally received the honorable Purple Heart medal — awarded to service members who sustained wounds from or were killed by enemy action in combat.

Edge was arrested in connection to a horrific shooting that broke out at a crowded dockside restaurant in North Carolina, leaving three people dead and multiple others with injuries.

The shooting suspect received the Purple Heart medal at one point during his two tours in Iraq. He served in the Marine Corps between September 2003 and June 2009, a U.S. military spokesperson told a news outlet.

The ranked sergeant received several other awards during his time in combat — including "the Marine Corps Good Conduct medal, Combat Action ribbon, Sea Service Deployment ribbon, Iraq Campaign Medal with two bronze stars, Humanitarian Service medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service medal, and National Defense Service medal," per the military rep.

The 39-year-old — who officials say suffers from PTSD — served two multi-month stints after being deployed during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2005 and 2006, North Carolina authorities revealed.

Edge's last assignment was at the Wounded Warrior Battalion East in Camp Lejeune — a center offering rehabilitation, counseling and recovery for those injured in combat.

The Marine veteran was handcuffed and taken into police custody on Saturday night, September 27, after opening fire at the American Fish Company — a Southport Yacht Basin restaurant located roughly 30 miles south of Wilmington.

In addition to the three fatalities, at least eight people were injured. One of the wounded victims is still "clinging to life," law enforcement officers admitted during a press conference.

Edge allegedly conducted the deadly attack with a short-barreled AR rifle, equipped with a suppressor, a folding stock and scope, court documents revealed.

The madman was charged with three counts of first-degree murder, five counts of attempted first-degree murder and five counts of assault with a deadly weapon — though a motive remains unknown.

Authorities, however, claimed the mass shooting was "highly premeditated."

Reports claimed Edge became a paranoid, delusional conspiracy theorist after finishing his time in the Marines and was once responsible for a series of strange lawsuits filed in North Caroline earlier this year.

One of the odd court filings accused Generations Church of working with the LGBTQ+ community to conduct a "civil conspiracy" with White supremacist pedophiles to kill Edge because he's "a straight man."

A separate lawsuit was filed by Edge against the Brunswick Medical Center in January, accusing the hospital of joining a conspiracy theory orchestrated by "LGBTQ White Supremacists" targeting him for surviving their alleged attack in Iraq.

Both lawsuits were dismissed with prejudice.

Edge was shockingly seen on the red carpet alongside American Idol alum Kellie Pickler at the 2012 Country Music Awards.