Speaker 1: Hey there, folks. It is Monday, September twenty ninth, and
Speaker 1: it appears there was a tragedy before the tragedy we
Speaker 1: saw this weekend in North Carolina, a mass shooting that
Speaker 1: left several people dead. But now we're learning more about
Speaker 1: the shooter and it sounds as if a lot of
Speaker 1: people might have failed this guy. And with that, welcome
Speaker 1: to this episode of Amy and TJ. I don't know
Speaker 1: if that's going too far this early ropes and saying that,
Speaker 1: but a story is developing of a guy who needed help,
Speaker 1: and a lot of people knew needed help, and now
Speaker 1: here we are.
Speaker 2: Look, we don't normally, and for very serious and specific reasons,
Speaker 2: don't talk much about the gunman or the shooters when
Speaker 2: you have mass tragedies, because on principle, you don't want
Speaker 2: to elevate or somehow make this terrible act the person
Speaker 2: who committed it elevated to a way where somehow a
Speaker 2: copycat would want that kind of attention or feel like
Speaker 2: they've gained some sort of notoriety. But in this specific case,
Speaker 2: we are talking about a highly decorated marine who gave
Speaker 2: truly his life, nearly his life for his country. When
Speaker 2: you actually hear what happened to him while he was
Speaker 2: fighting for our country in operation of Rocky Freedom.
Speaker 1: You will.
Speaker 2: Be amazed at what this young man endured, what he
Speaker 2: came through, and then the disabilities that he was left
Speaker 2: with were not We didn't take care of our own.
Speaker 2: We did not protect this young man from himself when
Speaker 2: he incurred life threatening, catastrophic injuries in war. We didn't
Speaker 2: make sure he was okay when he got back. And
Speaker 2: that is so sad. And that's why this story is it,
Speaker 2: like you said, a tragedy compounding another tragedy.
Speaker 1: It's it's bizarre oftentimes that a picture starts to develop
Speaker 1: this quickly right after a shooting like this. And it
Speaker 1: is bizarre because now included in this bizarre story is
Speaker 1: him side by side on a red carpet with a
Speaker 1: country music star. Yeah right, Kelly Pickler.
Speaker 2: Kelly Pickler, American idol of American idol fan.
Speaker 1: Okay, this part of the story comes up. Now, what
Speaker 1: is he doing there? Why is he there? That kind
Speaker 1: of quite frankly adds to who he was, how highly
Speaker 1: regarded he was. We're going to rejoy his list of vocolade.
Speaker 1: It was crazy and we'll get into why he was
Speaker 1: next to Kelly Pickler, but that added to this story
Speaker 1: Robes as we see a guy who for all intents
Speaker 1: and purposes, was on a particular path in life, went
Speaker 1: to war and somebody forgot about him. Yeah, I mean somebody.
Speaker 1: This is and we're talking about a guy who had
Speaker 1: a history of mental health issues according to authorities well documented.
Speaker 2: And his family too. His mother absolutely weighed in on
Speaker 2: it as well.
Speaker 1: And essentially was screaming, this dude needs help, my son
Speaker 1: needs help. Now we're not This is not a time
Speaker 1: obviously to be pointing fingers. The blame goes to the shooter.
Speaker 1: He pulled the trigger, he did what he did. But
Speaker 1: it's difficult. This is a tough one, Roles, because we
Speaker 1: always we want to look he did this very evil
Speaker 1: thing as the evil person. That's the end of the story.
Speaker 1: This is just the beginning of the story.
Speaker 2: Well, we're always looking for the why, and we almost
Speaker 2: never get it. In these types of shootings, these mass shootings,
Speaker 2: they're unexplained, they're puzzling. This one, we actually can connect
Speaker 2: the dots, it seems with you know, and this is
Speaker 2: pretty This is within hours of this tragedy happening but
Speaker 2: we can already see what happened and what, more importantly
Speaker 2: didn't happen, and how we can prevent That's what this
Speaker 2: is all about, right, We want to prevent things like
Speaker 2: this from happening again. And there were warning signs and
Speaker 2: there were massive holes in our healthcare system that let
Speaker 2: down this at the time, young man, which ultimately led
Speaker 2: to this tragedy. A lot of people could clearly connect
Speaker 2: those dots. So we're talking about just to get you
Speaker 2: up to speed. I'm sure you're aware of what happened,
Speaker 2: but we're talking about forty year old Nigel Edge. And
Speaker 2: he's changed his name recently, but it all speaks to
Speaker 2: his mental health issues because he was trying to distance
Speaker 2: himself from his family because he was paranoid. He will
Speaker 2: get into all of his mental health issues. But he
Speaker 2: was shot in the head in the line of duty
Speaker 2: while serving our country and then he turned around and
Speaker 2: shot three people in the head.
Speaker 1: That was a detail. Yeah, that was a detail we
Speaker 1: got from his court appearance today. He did make a
Speaker 1: first court appearance, and yeah, that was They said all
Speaker 1: the victims were in the head. So we had three
Speaker 1: dead and eight injured in the incidents, which was bizarre
Speaker 1: and also in that he opened fire on them from
Speaker 1: a boat. So he essentially pulled up to one of
Speaker 1: those many people who've been to these types of places.
Speaker 1: They're right there on the water. People are sitting out
Speaker 1: at night and enjoying music. It's a good time. People
Speaker 1: can pull up their boats and hop out and they
Speaker 1: go to dinner and whatnot. And he pulled up in
Speaker 1: a boat and fires from the boat and what authorities
Speaker 1: called a highly premeditated attack. This is in Southport, North Carolina. Ropes.
Speaker 1: This is an area you know, well, you said, this
Speaker 1: is a gorgeous area and what thirty or so miles
Speaker 1: outside of Wilmington.
Speaker 2: Yes, this is a coastal, beautiful North Carolina town, picturesque
Speaker 2: and authorities say the people who were shot were mostly tourists.
Speaker 2: These weren't locals. These were people who came to the area.
Speaker 2: It was a beautiful Saturday night. And actually they believe
Speaker 2: now from what they've gathered, he actually intended on committing
Speaker 2: this violence on Friday night, because they have witnesses and
Speaker 2: surveillance putting him in the exact same area on his
Speaker 2: boat with the lights off on Friday when another boat
Speaker 2: came by he turned his lights on, they believe decided
Speaker 2: to wait until the next day. But it was Saturday night,
Speaker 2: around nine thirty at night. People were outdoor on this
Speaker 2: deck listening to a live band, live music on the water,
Speaker 2: and he was there with a automatic rifle a scope.
Speaker 2: And he is a trained sniper. That was his job
Speaker 2: as a marine. He was a sniper who was trained
Speaker 2: to kill, and so when he started firing, he didn't
Speaker 2: just indiscriminately. It looks as though he pointed and aimed
Speaker 2: at these poor victims' heads. And that is what the
Speaker 2: prosecutor said today in court. They are considering the death
Speaker 2: penalty given the severity of his crime and the impact
Speaker 2: it's had. But the motive is still under investigation. But
Speaker 2: when we get into his what he's been doing over
Speaker 2: the last decade or so, it'll become clear that there
Speaker 2: might not be a motive. But we can understand how
Speaker 2: possibly this happened because of where he was mentally.
Speaker 1: He had grievances clearly with his parents, with the government,
Speaker 1: with the hospital, with the police, with all kinds of folks.
Speaker 1: But he was in court today, made an appearance this afternoon.
Speaker 1: He's charged with three counts of murder, five counts of
Speaker 1: attempted murder. They do expect to add charges as well.
Speaker 1: Now what else, Yeah, actually you had you had the
Speaker 1: notes there? Anything else when needs be pointing out from court?
Speaker 2: Well, the big thing was that prosecutors told the victims
Speaker 2: told the court excuse me, that the victims were shot
Speaker 2: on the head. But the prosecutors were very quick to
Speaker 2: point out that it was disturbing. They said, the precision
Speaker 2: of the violence. Oh wow, they actually made that point.
Speaker 2: But again, he's a trained sniper, so that actually shouldn't
Speaker 2: be that surprising any us. They talked about how they
Speaker 2: do believe he scoped out at the released the scene
Speaker 2: the night before, but they do suggest that maybe he
Speaker 2: intended on committing his act on Friday versus Saturday. But
Speaker 2: when they searched his home he owns he has a home,
Speaker 2: a boat, and a vehicle. They said they found multiple firearms.
Speaker 2: They did not say whether or not any of those
Speaker 2: were the firearms used in the attack, but they did
Speaker 2: say he had multiple firearms. Now, the reporters who were
Speaker 2: able to witness the hearing, he did appear via zoom
Speaker 2: from his jail cell, they say he was emotionless, that
Speaker 2: he remained silent during the hearing. He had requested a
Speaker 2: court appointed attorney, and there's going to be another hearing
Speaker 2: next month, October thirteenth, I believe. And it was quick
Speaker 2: and to the point, but we did get an idea
Speaker 2: of where the prosecutors are in this and they do
Speaker 2: believe they will possibly seek the death penalty.
Speaker 1: Okay, So this was Nigel Edge is what he goes
Speaker 1: by now, But a couple of years ago he changed
Speaker 1: his name from Sean William deba voice now that was
Speaker 1: his name ancient in twenty twenty three. The reason he
Speaker 1: gave at the time for wanting to change his name
Speaker 1: was that he thought there have been a lot and
Speaker 1: I'm quoting here, there have been a lot of events
Speaker 1: in my life that I don't understand. Therefore, I do
Speaker 1: not trust my family and I would feel more comfortable
Speaker 1: starting my life in a new path with a new name.
Speaker 1: That is just the start of a lot of bizarre
Speaker 1: things we're kind of finding out about his background. What's
Speaker 1: not bizarre to hear this Robes a marine from two
Speaker 1: thousand and three to two thousand and nine, deployed Operation
Speaker 1: a Rocky Freedom twice two thousand and five, two thousand
Speaker 1: and six. His list of awards, ribbons, and accolades is
Speaker 1: hero stuff.
Speaker 2: It's unbelievable. So he these were his awards. I mean,
Speaker 2: these are the highest honors. When we say a highly
Speaker 2: decorated marine. This is about as highly decorated as you
Speaker 2: can get. He had a purple heart. He received the
Speaker 2: Marine Corps Good c Conduct Medal, Combat Action Ribbon for
Speaker 2: service in Iraq see Service Deployment Ribbon, two Bronze Stars,
Speaker 2: a Humanitarian Service Medal, a National Defense Service Medal, and more.
Speaker 2: I mean, the list goes on and on. He was
Speaker 2: it appears to be a model, exemplary marine.
Speaker 1: And he was injured, right, so there's still we don't
Speaker 1: have all the details about exactly what happened to him,
Speaker 1: but he was injured pretty severely. It appears during his service.
Speaker 1: Now he went on. Now he stayed in the area.
Speaker 1: What was the name of the town, I don't have
Speaker 1: it in front of him. Southward, but that was another
Speaker 1: town he was from. But they said he had been
Speaker 1: in the area for several years and in that time.
Speaker 1: In the past several years, he has been filing lawsuit
Speaker 1: after lawsuit after lawsuit against just about everybody and to
Speaker 1: the point where the judge had to issue in order
Speaker 1: to get him to stop filing lawsuit. Correct, it got
Speaker 1: that kind of bad. To give you an idea. He
Speaker 1: has sued police departments, hospitals, a church, all for various
Speaker 1: and bizarre sounding reasons.
Speaker 2: Bro Yes in the church he sued back in May,
Speaker 2: he accused the church of trying to make him commit
Speaker 2: suicide because quote, he is not lgb QT or a pedophile,
Speaker 2: so he got it a little mixed up that acronym.
Speaker 2: But that is bizarre, obviously. And then when he made
Speaker 2: the claim against his parents, including that they falsified a
Speaker 2: birth certificate for a feral child, his mother in response,
Speaker 2: this is all in court documents, you can read it.
Speaker 2: This is her quote. Plaintiff suffers from war injuries, and
Speaker 2: he suffers from delusions and PTSD. The VA needs to
Speaker 2: take care of him with three exclamation points. That is
Speaker 2: from his mother, Sondra, in response to the lawsuit one
Speaker 2: of the lawsuits he filed against them and his own parents.
Speaker 1: You know what we didn't mention as well, the severity
Speaker 1: of his injuries we were talking about. Came back and
Speaker 1: was told he was not going to walk. He switched
Speaker 1: hospitals and stuck at it and was ended up, yes,
Speaker 1: walking again, but he was told he wouldn't walk again.
Speaker 2: You know what's crazy. There was a news story about him.
Speaker 2: I mean, this was a kid who was I say
Speaker 2: a kid. He's forty years old now, but this was
Speaker 2: a man who will get into all of the things
Speaker 2: he did when he came back. But he was a
Speaker 2: news story.
Speaker 1: He was a big deal.
Speaker 2: So the Wilmington Star News described him as a marine
Speaker 2: sniper who'd been left for dead after being shot four times,
Speaker 2: including in the head, during a raid on a warehouse
Speaker 2: in a rock. This happened in May of two thousand
Speaker 2: and six, and they were the story that they were
Speaker 2: doing about and he was trying to raise money to
Speaker 2: start a com commercial fishing business, so you know, he
Speaker 2: was trying to get his life back together. But they
Speaker 2: said he was shot in the head and the shoulder
Speaker 2: and the hip and in the ankle. I believe, And yes,
Speaker 2: he was wheelchair bound and said he would never walk again.
Speaker 2: But he walked again with a cane, and he went
Speaker 2: through enough physical therapy that he was able to overcome
Speaker 2: all of those injuries. But what he it seems, was
Speaker 2: not able to overcome was the traumatic brain injury that
Speaker 2: he suffered when he was shot in the head.
Speaker 1: And they all, I say they all, but certainly the
Speaker 1: authorities say he didn't have really much of a police
Speaker 1: record of any kind of him. But they were aware
Speaker 1: he had mental health issues. Severe mental health issues, is
Speaker 1: what they said. The lawsuits that he was piling up.
Speaker 1: You mentioned the church he claimed a church was trying
Speaker 1: to murder him by poisoning, and another lawsuit he claimed
Speaker 1: the hospital tried to murder him after they found out
Speaker 1: he had quote survived a hate crime by the LGBTQ
Speaker 1: white supremacists. I mean, just what is going on with
Speaker 1: this guy? But he was. It just kept coming in
Speaker 1: lawsuit and lawsuit and lawsuits, so they had to cut
Speaker 1: him off from having the privilege to do so.
Speaker 2: Look, and my question is they're cutting him off from
Speaker 2: filing lawsuits. They're recognizing a very detailed pattern of mental health.
Speaker 2: He obviously has a traumatic brain injury that you can
Speaker 2: clearly point to. How in the hell I didn't think
Speaker 2: someone with that documented mental health issues would be allowed
Speaker 2: to have a gun, let alone multiple firearms, and knowing
Speaker 2: that he was a sniper, knowing that he was trained
Speaker 2: at his weapons. I know people didn't believe he was
Speaker 2: actually going to turn to violence, but if someone has
Speaker 2: these delusions that someone's trying to kill him or people
Speaker 2: are coming after him, that's paranoia. That wouldn't be a
Speaker 2: big stretch to say maybe this person shouldn't have access
Speaker 2: to a gun or multiple guns.
Speaker 1: I haven't seen anything on that yet where he got it,
Speaker 1: if he legally acquired, And also haven't seen rope They
Speaker 1: talking about mental health. Was he ever documented in such
Speaker 1: a way that would have prevented him from buying a weapon.
Speaker 1: These things, in these questions need to be answered. The
Speaker 1: victims are the ones yes today, and they're families who
Speaker 1: matter MO And we don't know the victims' names yet
Speaker 1: their identities, but we'll talk about them when we find
Speaker 1: them out. But it is in this case, in particular
Speaker 1: robes so important that we do I have to talk
Speaker 1: about the shooter today, the alleged shooter today, and the
Speaker 1: background of this person, because those families are gonna want
Speaker 1: to know why, and if they don't get a good
Speaker 1: enough answer from the alleged shooter, they're gonna go Okay,
Speaker 1: then why did the VA not look at him? Why
Speaker 1: didn't they They're gonna want to know an answer that
Speaker 1: maybe he can't give them, but they're gonna want to
Speaker 1: know that before that, well, who was it who was
Speaker 1: taking care of this guy, keeping an eye on this guy,
Speaker 1: making sure he got the help he needed it, Because
Speaker 1: it seems so obvious this wasn't. Oh, he was such
Speaker 1: a nice guy, kind of like it was documented. It
Speaker 1: was for years, it sounds.
Speaker 2: Like, yes, and his injuries were well documented as well.
Speaker 2: I mean, this young man at the time suffered greatly
Speaker 2: and now so many families are suffering because he was
Speaker 2: literally twisting in the wind.
Speaker 1: Ah. Well, folks, he actually published a book. He self
Speaker 1: published a book. The name of it Headshot, Betrayal of
Speaker 1: a Nation. Stay here, you'll want to hear what this
Speaker 1: book is about.
Speaker 2: Continuing now on this episode of Amy and TJ, we
Speaker 2: are talking about the suspect Nigel Edge, forty years old,
Speaker 2: former marine, a highly decorated marine who is now charged
Speaker 2: with three counts of murder and five counts of attempted
Speaker 2: murder after he opened fire while folks were enjoying a
Speaker 2: beautiful night, a beautiful Saturday night at a water beautiful
Speaker 2: restaurant right on the water in North Carolina, enjoying their
Speaker 2: night nine thirty pm from a boat. He had an
Speaker 2: assault rifle, he had a scope. He shot his victims
Speaker 2: in the head, And of course everyone wants to know why,
Speaker 2: how did this happen? It's always the question we have.
Speaker 2: There is never a good answer to explain away something
Speaker 2: of this magnitude. But he was in court today. We
Speaker 2: heard a little bit about what prosecutors are going to
Speaker 2: be doing next, and it's likely they will seek the
Speaker 2: death penalty against him. But we're also learning so much
Speaker 2: about this former marine who had a bright career, was
Speaker 2: a he had the highest honors of marine could get
Speaker 2: after serving his country, and yet here we are today
Speaker 2: with him charged with heinous crimes. And to make things
Speaker 2: even more bizarre, pictures are surfacing and we can go
Speaker 2: back and look even on social media. He ended up
Speaker 2: in twenty twelve Kelly Pickler American idol is Kelly Pickler.
Speaker 2: You know where she's from, North Carolina. Big star around
Speaker 2: the country, but certainly in that state. In North Carolina.
Speaker 2: He ended up escorting her to the CMA Awards. Correct
Speaker 2: back in twenty twelve. CMTSMT sorry, CMT sorry.
Speaker 1: I get them coming Yeah, he ended up, as the
Speaker 1: story went at the time, he had met her somewhere
Speaker 1: and just invited her to a charity event. She couldn't
Speaker 1: attend that because the schedule and followed up, and he
Speaker 1: escorted her that night and was her date. And she
Speaker 1: was married at the times. It wasn't like they were dating,
Speaker 1: if you will, but it was a nice gesture. She
Speaker 1: thought enough of them. He impressed her enough. He had
Speaker 1: his service dog with him on the red carpet, even
Speaker 1: rusty that night. So those pictures are out there, and
Speaker 1: that's the guy we're talking about, Folks, when you go
Speaker 1: look up those pictures, that's the guy accused of gunning
Speaker 1: down folks who were sitting outside enjoying drinks and listening
Speaker 1: to music.
Speaker 2: Yeah, he looks like somebody who you would see and
Speaker 2: say thank you for your service, sir, somebody who you
Speaker 2: would show deep respect to, and certainly never expect this
Speaker 2: kind of violence or for him to do these heinous
Speaker 2: things that police say he did. And certainly it's just
Speaker 2: such a an about face doesn't seem to be the
Speaker 2: right phrase, but it is such a departure from what
Speaker 2: you would expect. And so when you start to dig
Speaker 2: in and see what happened to this man and where
Speaker 2: he is now and the best way to do that. Yes,
Speaker 2: we can look at the lawsuits he's filed. We can
Speaker 2: hear from his parents who have certainly we're screaming for
Speaker 2: help from the VA to say, please help our son.
Speaker 2: He's not well, he's delusional, he's suffering from traumatic brain injury.
Speaker 2: But he actually self published a book.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, I had to go look this up.
Speaker 1: It's still out there till on Amazon. But even the
Speaker 1: name of it, Headshot Betrayal of a Nation, even that's heavy.
Speaker 1: But take a listen to what he describes robes and
Speaker 1: this is part of the description of the book on Amazon,
Speaker 1: and I'm quoting taking four bullets, including one to the
Speaker 1: head Sewn he was Sean at the time. Shawn's life
Speaker 1: would never be the same. But it was the fact
Speaker 1: that all of this was at the hand of friendly
Speaker 1: fire that would provide the most crippling mental damage. Sean
Speaker 1: deba voice was nearly killed by his own marines, and
Speaker 1: for reasons that are boggling to the outside mind. Putting
Speaker 1: the pieces together. Still today, Sewn has come to realize
Speaker 1: that a dangerous web was woven between the US Marines,
Speaker 1: a hunger for honor and jealousy that traced all the
Speaker 1: way back to his family home. It sounds almost like
Speaker 1: fiction is being written.
Speaker 2: It does, and none of this specifically has been corroborated.
Speaker 2: I mean, clearly history. It was injured. But he went
Speaker 2: on to say Seawan killed insurgents on that fateful day
Speaker 2: when he was locked in a warehouse and left to
Speaker 2: die by his own men. Returning home, the nightmare seemed
Speaker 2: to become even more horrifying. Although he has worked tirelessly
Speaker 2: to recover the use of his body and reclaim his
Speaker 2: life from those who did everything in their power to
Speaker 2: take it from him, he still grapples with a mysterious
Speaker 2: story that the US military doesn't want you to know.
Speaker 2: This is Sean's story and it's being told for the
Speaker 2: first time with unflinching honesty.
Speaker 1: Wow, I mean wow, just wow, Just what was going
Speaker 1: on with this guy? And look it's it's it's it's
Speaker 1: weird for your heart to hurt for the guy accused
Speaker 1: of doing this. Right, it just is we supposed to
Speaker 1: just see's a monster. You should go to jail for
Speaker 1: the rest of his life. And who knows what was
Speaker 1: really going on, but just it was a very quick
Speaker 1: picture that was painted of yes, there was something going
Speaker 1: on with him in your heart hurts for everybody certainly today.
Speaker 2: Man, you know who I think of right now? I
Speaker 2: think of our dear friend and God we love him,
Speaker 2: Bob Woodruff, who was injured and also had a traumatic
Speaker 2: brain injury while he was covering a war zone, and
Speaker 2: he has spent and dedicated his life, he and his
Speaker 2: wife Lee to helping servicemen and women who found themselves
Speaker 2: in the same ble. But they've had to step in
Speaker 2: and they privately have funded so much help and care
Speaker 2: for these men and women because our government doesn't provide enough,
Speaker 2: and they are on their bullhn horn and sounding alarms
Speaker 2: for people for decades now, trying to raise awareness about
Speaker 2: the fact that we as a nation do not take
Speaker 2: care of our men and women who are wounded, especially
Speaker 2: those with traumatic head injuries when they come back home.
Speaker 2: And so I applaud Bob and Lee for all that
Speaker 2: they do, because this is an extreme example, this is
Speaker 2: worst case scenario. But we need more help for the
Speaker 2: men and women who come back and are helpless in
Speaker 2: a lot of ways, and we put them on those
Speaker 2: battlefields and we need to take care of them when
Speaker 2: they come home.
Speaker 1: Like we said, it sounds like a tragedy on top
Speaker 1: of tragedy. More details to come, would you say? Next week?
Speaker 2: October thirteenth? This is next hearing?
Speaker 1: All right, well, folks, we just wanted to hop on
Speaker 1: on this one with the updates. But as always on
Speaker 1: my malf of Amy Robach, I am TJ. Holmes. I
Speaker 1: always appreciate you all spending some time with us