SOUTHPORT, N.C. (WECT) - Phillip Bowen was born and raised in Oak Island, and the events of last Saturday were the last thing he ever expected to hit the seaside community.
That night, Bowen stopped in at the bar to have a little fun.
“I turned back around and heard a ‘pop pop.’ Naturally, I turned around and looked above the boat to observe the fireworks that [I expected] would go off after the initial pop. And instead I heard another pop and a white light come out just above the transom of the boat.”
Bowen says he saw the suspected shooter, Nigel Edge, on his boat.
Not long after, the sound of music and chatter in the crowd was replaced by screams and gunfire.
“By the grace of God, I wasn’t hit because he didn’t aim at me because anything he aimed at, he hit.”
At this point, Bowen had one thing on his mind: get out.
“The only thing that was going through my head was self-preservation,”
In the aftermath of the attack, once Edge was in custody, a new realization plagued Bowen.
“When I heard his name and discovered that, and then it hit me I had met the gentleman six years ago,” said Bowen, “Just before he had been diagnosed with basically schizophrenia.”
Bowen says he spoke with Edge before, noticing the scars that marked him during his history of serving the country.
“You take somebody that’s served our country, trained to be a sniper, where you must kill without remorse and without emotion to be dead calm,” said Bowen. “And he exhibited those exact qualities.”
Bowen says he and Edge had talked. Edge spoke about his service and his struggles. Bowen says he left the conversation feeling frustrated that the Marine veteran wasn’t getting the help he needed.
“I just wanted to listen to him and thank him for his service and not have pity on him for the way he was, but just show him respect and show him love,” said Bowen. “And it’s obvious he didn’t get enough of that. I feel sorry for everybody involved because they’re all victims.”
Bowen feels lucky to be alive, but now he’s only left to think about the lives changed forever and what could have been.
“Our system failed him, and it failed the victims,” said Bowen. “The beauty is the future carries on, and we can change that, and we can do much better, and I pray we do.”