Estranged friends and family and even a judge had raised concerns months before authorities say a wounded Iraq War veteran killed three people and injured five at a North Carolina waterfront bar.

Marc Simmons hadn't heard from his estranged friend in nearly seven years. Then, Nigel Max Edge showed up at his work and falsely accused Simmons of stealing his identity.

They met taking community college classes and bonded over their time with the Marines in Iraq. Simmons' kids once called Edge "Uncle Sean" — back when his name was still Sean William DeBevoise.

Simmons was now terrified his old friend would retaliate against him, he told a judge.

"The defendant, Nigel Edge, is mentally unstable," Simmons said in a handwritten request for a protective order. "Always has a pistol on him, on hi

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