Three people have died and eight others were injured after a gunman on a passing boat opened fire into a crowded dockside restaurant in North Carolina Saturday (September 27) night, the New York Post reports.
The suspect, whose identity hasn’t been revealed publicly, reportedly pulled up to the American Fish Company restaurant and shot into a crowd of unsuspecting diners at around 9:30 p.m. local time before taking off up the Intracoastal Waterway. A person matching the shooter’s description was spotted loading a similar boat onto a marina on Oak Island, which is located about 5 miles from the restaurant, at around 10:00 p.m., Southport city officials confirmed in a post shared on their Facebook account.
The city confirmed the three deaths and eight injuries reported at the scene. A person of interest was detained by the U.S. Coast Guard and was being held by Oak Island Police while awaiting transfer back to Southport to be questioned by police.
The person of interest’s identity hasn’t been released and a motivation for the shooting wasn’t revealed publicly. Authorities declared an “active shooter” situation prior to the person of interest being detained and confirmed that there was “currently no known further credible threat to the public.”
“Officers and Deputies from multiple agencies are in place to help ensure additional security for the greater area,” Southport officials said.
American Fish Company has dubbed itself as one of Southport’s “favorite hangouts,” often featuring live music, which included the band “Bacon Grease” who was reported to be performing at the time of the shooting, according to a post on the restaurant’s Instagram detailing its weekend live music lineup.
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