The City of Southport posted an emergency notice on social media shortly before 10 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 27.
https://archive.is/8Wl5k (nypost)
(the restaurant)
UPDATE from the city facebook page, local press release statement
28 September 2025
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
CITY OF SOUTHPORT
Southport Mass Shooting Person of Interest Detained in Oak IslandSouthport, NC โ On Saturday, September 27, 2025 at approximately 9:30 PM, 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 Dr, Southport, NC 28461.
Just prior, a boat with a single occupant traveling on the Cape Fear River, paused briefly at the American Fish Company and opened fire, fatally wounding three patrons, and injuring at least eight others. The boat then fled the area, towards the Intracoastal Waterway in the direction of Oak Island.
Shortly after 10:00 PM, the U.S. Coast Guard observed a single individual matching the description of the shooter, loading their boat at the public boat ramp at NE 55th Street in Oak Island. The Coast Guard crew detained this suspect, who is now being held by the Oak Island Police Department, and will be turned over to the Southport Police Department for questioning, with assistance from the State Bureau of Investigation.
IMPORTANTLY, there is 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.
This investigation is still in an immediate response stage; however, further updates on suspect identity and charges will be provided directly by the City of Southport as they become available.
Updates will be added to the original social media notice published by the City of Southport; to view this ongoing thread, visit the City of Southport Facebook page at https://buff.ly/KaUvYif.
I got curious about this because I've been through that city before, because there are two separate ferry lines to the outer banks there. The "Yacht Basin" that it happened in is the name of a road (and I'm guessing the name of the general dockside strip mall complex too) with a bunch of the sort of run-down-but-still-probably-decent restaurants and bars you'd see in any coastal NC town, with docks along the bay side and a public beach (albeit a sort of sad one compared to the ones on the outer banks) on the sound side. The whole place has that sort of decaying not-fancy but catering to upper middle class tourists or retirees from elsewhere in the state vibe that a lot of coastal towns along the sound have there.
The specific place this happened at is a bar with live music at the very end of the strip (so right next to the beach), that a quick glance suggests was no more expensive or high end than a typical pub despite having its own pier right on the sound.
So my bet is on some drunk boater hog with a grudge or who found the music the bar was playing annoying lashing out, since boaters are the literal worst.