Several major shootings in North Carolina during 2025 and 2026 have produced named suspects at very different points in the criminal process. Some cases have moved to indictment, one has been paused because the defendant was found incompetent to stand trial, and others are still adding defendants. Below is where each of the North Carolina shooting suspects stands, organized by incident.
Southport Waterfront: Nigel Edge
Nigel Max Edge, 40, of Oak Island, was arrested by the U.S. Coast Guard at a public boat ramp about 30 minutes after a gunman opened fire from a boat on patrons of the American Fish Company at the Southport Yacht Basin on the night of September 27, 2025. Three people were killed and at least eight injured. The dead were Joy Rogers, 64, of Southport; Solomon Banjo, 36, of Charlottesville, Virginia; and Michael Durbin, 56, of Galena, Ohio.1Spectrum News. Authorities Identify Victims of Deadly Southport Mass Shooting Authorities described the attack as a “targeted shooting” by a “lone wolf” gunman.2ABC11. Southport Mass Shooting
Edge, born Sean William Debevoise, legally changed his name in 2023. He is a Marine veteran and Purple Heart recipient who served two Iraq deployments and was shot in the head during a warehouse raid.3NewsNation. North Carolina Shooting Suspect Nigel Edge In the months before the shooting he filed a string of civil lawsuits accusing a hospital, individuals, and a Southport church of hate crimes, poisoning, and human trafficking. All were dismissed, and by August 2025 a Brunswick County court manager had entered a gatekeeping order requiring court permission before he could file anything further.4WRAL. Nigel Edge Charged in Southport Mass Shooting
Edge was initially 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 or inflict serious injury.5CBS News. Nigel Edge, North Carolina Bar Shooting Suspect In January 2026 a grand jury returned a total of 18 indictments, adding two more counts of attempted first-degree murder, two more counts of assault with a deadly weapon, and one count of discharging a firearm into occupied property.6WHQR. Grand Jury Issues Numerous Indictments Against Alleged Southport Shooter Nigel Edge He is held without bond at the Brunswick County Detention Center and is represented by the state Capital Defender’s Office.
In April 2026, after a Rule 24 competency hearing, Judge Jason Disbrow found Edge “incapable of proceeding.” State forensic examiner Dr. Matthew McNally reported that Edge held delusional beliefs but that his capacity could potentially be restored through medication and counseling; two defense-retained experts agreed he was currently incapable. The judge ordered Edge transferred to Central Prison in Raleigh and then to Cherry Hospital in Goldsboro for court-ordered mental health treatment.7WHQR. Judge Orders Treatment for Alleged Southport Shooter to Restore Capacity to Stand Trial All proceedings are paused until his capacity is restored, and the timeline for that is described as indeterminate. District Attorney Jon David said it was “not in the best interest at this time” to decide whether to seek the death penalty while the defendant is incompetent.8WECT. Death Penalty Hearing Stalled After Alleged Southport Gunman Ruled Incompetent to Stand Trial
Leinbach Park in Winston-Salem: Nine Charged
A planned fight between two teenage girls at Leinbach Park in Winston-Salem on the morning of April 20, 2026, escalated into a shootout that killed two people and injured five. Police said 16-year-old Daniel Jiminez Milian and 18-year-old Joel Michael Gamble-Toliver drew firearms around 9:52 a.m. Milian and 17-year-old Erubey Romero Medina were killed at the scene. Gamble-Toliver, a 14-year-old girl, a 15-year-old girl, a 17-year-old girl, and a 19-year-old woman were injured.9ABC11. New Details Emerge in Leinbach Park Shooting10CNN. Mass Shooting at Winston-Salem Park
Gamble-Toliver was the first person charged. His initial felony child abuse charge was dismissed and replaced with two felony counts of engaging in a riot resulting in a death and one count of rioting with a dangerous weapon. He is held without bond.11WFDD. WSPD Announces New Charges for Suspect in Leinbach Park Shooting Winston-Salem Police Chief William H. Penn Jr. said adults who stood by and encouraged the fight would also face charges.
By late May 2026, nine people had been charged. Among them, Yamilet Jimenez-Milan, 21, is charged with felony inciting to riot. Steven Villanueva, 17, is charged as an adult with felony inciting to riot. A 14-year-old girl is charged with inciting a riot contributing to a death and inciting a riot leading to serious bodily injury, and was placed under house arrest. Caroli Gonzalez-Medrano, 17, was charged on May 27, 2026, with felony inciting to riot and felony riot resulting in death; a judge told her at first appearance that a conviction on both counts could carry up to 292 months in prison.12ABC45. Caroli Gonzalez-Medrano Is the Ninth Person Charged in the Investigation Authorities have said they expect more charges.13WRAL. Two Additional Teens Charged in Winston-Salem Leinbach Park Shooting
Catawba County House Party: Six Indicted on 64 Counts Each
On June 1, 2025, gunfire at a large house party in the Mountain View area of southwest Catawba County left one person dead and 11 others shot or injured. Investigators said members of a group they called the “Hillside shooters” planned the attack on social media and fired more than 80 rounds. The person killed, Shawn Patrick Hood, 58, of Lenoir, was struck by someone returning fire in self-defense; that shooter will not face charges for Hood’s death.14Spectrum News. Six People Face 64 Counts Each in Catawba County Party Mass Shooting
Six suspects were each indicted on one count of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and 63 counts of attempted first-degree murder: Garon Killian, Toland Huff, Ke’andre Mack, Zachary Bates, Izaiah Mitchell, and Charles Rodell Kincaid III. A seventh person, Zoe Braswell, was indicted on four counts of accessory after the fact. Kincaid, 27, fled to Minnesota and was arrested on June 12, 2025, in Rogers, Minnesota, by the North Star Fugitive Task Force with the U.S. Marshals Service.15KSTP. North Carolina Mass Shooting Suspect Arrested in Minnesota
WakeMed Garner Officer Killing: Benji Martin Jr.
WakeMed Campus Police Officer Roger Smith, 59, was fatally shot around 9:00 a.m. on November 8, 2025, during a struggle in the emergency department lobby of the WakeMed Garner Healthplex. A medical examiner’s report confirmed that Smith’s own service weapon, a P320 9mm handgun, was wrestled away during the confrontation and that he was shot twice.16CBS17. Medical Examiner’s Report Says WakeMed Garner Officer Was Shot With His Service Weapon
Benji Martin Jr., 29, of Garner, was charged with murder. Martin was also shot during the struggle and remained hospitalized for nearly two weeks before being transferred to the Wake County Detention Center on November 21, 2025.17CBS17. Suspect in Death of WakeMed Garner Officer Released From Hospital, Taken to Jail His defense team has said Martin went to the hospital seeking mental health assistance and was not armed when he arrived, and that the fatal confrontation began after he gained control of the officer’s weapon.18ABC11. Police Investigate Whether Benji Martin Jr. Was Under the Influence of THC During Fatal Shooting Police have been investigating whether he was under the influence of THC at the time. A grand jury indicted him on the murder charge, and no trial date has been set.19WRAL. WakeMed Garner Officer Shooting Death: Benji Martin Records Motion
Foiled New Orleans Festival Plot: Christopher Gillum
Christopher Gillum, 45, a former North Carolina law enforcement officer, was arrested on April 22, 2026, at a hotel in Destin, Florida. Authorities said he was planning to travel to the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival to carry out a mass shooting and then die by “suicide by cop.”20CNN. New Orleans Mass Shooting Plan Arrest: What We Know
His family reported him missing on April 21, 2026. Burlington police and Alamance County investigators quickly identified him as a danger to himself and others and tried to draft paperwork for an involuntary psychiatric commitment, but he had already left the state. Investigators used FLOCK license plate reader technology to track his vehicle to Florida, where the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office detained him without incident and recovered a Glock handgun and roughly 200 rounds of ammunition.21WRAL. Christopher Gillum Mass Shooting Plot22New York Times. Mass Shooting Arrest Before New Orleans Festival
Gillum worked for at least three North Carolina law enforcement agencies between 2004 and 2025, including the Chapel Hill Police Department, the Carolina Beach Police Department, and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. According to CNN, his family told investigators he had expressed an interest in harming Black people. He was charged with making terroristic threats out of Orleans Parish, Louisiana, extradited from Florida, and booked into the Orleans Justice Center on May 12, 2026. At a probable cause hearing the following day, a commissioner ordered him held without bond.23FOX 8 Live. Festival Shooting Plot Suspect Held Without Bond in New Orleans
Hertford County Juvenile Suspects
A shooting involving three juveniles in Hertford County on April 6, 2026, left two people shot and one dead. A 16-year-old suspect fled the state and was tracked through an automatic license plate reader system to Gatlinburg, Tennessee, where the Gatlinburg Police Department took him into custody without incident on April 10, 2026. He faces felony warrants from Hertford County for attempted first-degree murder and robbery with a dangerous weapon.24WATE. North Carolina Shooting Suspect Arrested in Sevier County The Hertford County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a second juvenile and continues searching for a third.