Three people were killed and several others were injured when someone on a boat opened fire on patrons of a waterfront eatery at a North Carolina marina on Saturday night, officials said.
The boat paused in front of American Fish Company at Southport Yacht Basin and a gunman opened fire, said ChyAnn Ketchum, spokesperson for the city of Southport.
Southport Police Chief Todd Coring said “possibly six” injured people were being treated at hospitals. Details on their conditions were unavailable. The city initially said eight people were injured.
The three people killed were not publicly identified early Sunday.
The shooter fled toward the adjacent Intracoastal Waterway, Ketchum said. The boat may have been headed toward the neighboring community of Oak Island, where authorities were continuing their investigation, Coring said.
A person of interest was being questioned late Saturday, the police chief said.
Oak Island said in a statement that a U.S. Coast Guard crew detained a person matching the description of the shooter after spotting them loading a boat at a public ramp in the town.
Though a motive was unavailable, Coring sought to reassure residents that the violence was over.
“I’m comfortable to say that we don’t feel like there’s any additional threats to the community,” he said.
The earlier report of an active shooter at the marina prompted a law enforcement response. The city of Southport in a statement had urged people in the area to “remain in your homes” and report anyone suspicious to authorities via 911.
The Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office said that it is one of multiple law enforcement agencies in the region that responded to the incident.
“Please keep all those affected, as well as our first responders, in your thoughts and prayers,” the sheriff’s office said.
Coring said the FBI and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were assisting the investigation.
“We’re a small community, one of the communities where everybody knows everybody,” the chief said. “It’s just a very tragic night.”
The yacht basin exists in the southeastern corner of the state “where the Intracoastal Waterway, Cape Fear River and Atlantic Ocean converge,” according to state tourism organization Visit North Carolina. The basin is lined with restaurants, it says.
Insiya Gandhi contributed.
