By Chad Austin, BR Managing Editor

SOUTHPORT, N.C. — Pastor Devon Varnam of Southport Baptist Church had already gone to bed Saturday night when his phone began buzzing with messages that snapped him wide awake.

Following a flurry of text messages from fellow pastors letting Varnam know they were praying for him, he soon learned that the unthinkable had happened — there had been a shooting in Southport.

Within minutes, Varnam was dressed, out the door and on his way to offer comfort and help to those he could in the quaint, coastal town located where the Cape Fear River flows into the Atlantic Ocean.

“I didn’t know what was going on until I got on the scene,” Varnam said. “I knew there had been a shooting, but I had no idea what I was walking into. I just knew something was going on in the city where I pastor that I love, and I just wanted to go be Jesus to whoever I could be Jesus to.”

What Varnam soon learned from law enforcement officers on the scene was that the shooting had claimed the lives of three individuals and injured five others in Southport’s Yacht Basin district, which is located on the edge of downtown and features a marina and collection of waterfront restaurants.

At approximately 9:30 p.m., Saturday, members of the Southport Police Department were dispatched to calls of shots fired with multiple injuries at the American Fish Company, located at 150 Yacht Basin Drive. Officials said a boat with a single occupant opened fire on the establishment before fleeing the area in the direction of nearby Oak Island.

Shortly after 10 p.m., the U.S. Coast Guard observed an individual matching the description of the shooter loading a boat at a public boat ramp in Oak Island. The Coast Guard crew assisted local law enforcement who detained the suspect and was then held by the Oak Island Police Department before being turned over to Southport police, who were assisted by members of the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation.

The suspect, Nigel Max Edge, has been arrested and charged with three counts of first-degree murder, five counts of attempted first-degree murder, and five counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, inflicting serious injury. The investigation is ongoing.

Varnam prayed with local law enforcement and first responders, as well as with family members of one of the shooting victims that night. He stayed on the scene until about 2 a.m. Sunday, ministering to individuals along with chaplains from the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office.

The shooting took place just a few blocks from Southport Baptist Church, where Varnam pastors. While on the scene, Varnam and local officials began organizing a community prayer vigil that took place at the church Sunday night, less than 24 hours after the shooting.

The vigil drew an overflow crowd that spilled outside the church vestibule. Varnam estimates the event drew between 800 and 1,000 people to the church that can seat approximately 600 in the sanctuary and balcony. Many attendees stood outside the main doors of the church to listen in.

During the vigil, first responders and pastors from the area led attendees in prayer for the victims and the community, as well as the suspect.

“Our community has been shaken by tragedy,” said Rodney Cox, pastor of Sunrise Baptist Church in Southport. “Lives have been taken, families are grieving and many are asking questions for which there are no easy answers…. We come together with open hearts, heavy tears and humble prayers. We come to remind one another that God has not abandoned us, even when evil strikes.”

Southport Fire Chief Charles Drew, who also pastors a church in the area, called the shooting “an evil and ungodly act” that puts Southport in line with other communities and neighborhoods across the country that have experienced a mass shooting.

“But I want to tell you tonight that Southport is strong,” Drew said. “The spirit of Southport cannot be broken by this heinous act. We are stronger than this. This prayer vigil tonight is the right thing to bring help, to bring healing and to bring courage back to this community.” 

Several speakers encouraged the community to be “Southport Strong,” a slogan that is emerging as a rallying cry in the aftermath of the shooting.

Varnam said he and Southport Baptist Church are preparing to minister to the community however they can in the days and weeks to come.

“We’re just trying to love our community,” Varnam said. “At the end of the day, we want to be the hands and feet of Jesus.

“Southport is very resilient. We’ve got the saying ‘Southport Strong.’ We want to be ‘Southport Strong,’ but we also want to be ‘Jesus Strong.’”

(EDITOR’S NOTE — A video recording of the Southport prayer vigil is available on Southport Baptist Church’s Facebook page.)