Southport, NC — Southport Police Chief Todd Coring reflected on the anniversary of the American Fish Company shooting by focusing not only on the tragedy itself, but on the strength the community showed in the hours and days that followed.
He began by honoring the three lives lost on September 27, 2025 – Joy Rogers, Solomon Banjo, and Michael Durbin – and acknowledging the families, friends, and loved ones whose lives were permanently changed. He also recognized the survivors, the employees working that night, the witnesses, and the residents and visitors who endured an experience no one should ever face.
But Chief Coring emphasized that Southport’s story is not defined solely by what happened on the night of the shooting. Instead, he pointed to September 28th, the morning after, as the moment when the community’s true character became unmistakably clear.
He described how people came together without hesitation, standing side by side, praying, crying, comforting strangers, checking on neighbors, and supporting first responders. There were no perfect answers and no way to erase the pain, but there was one thing Southport could do: stand together. And that is exactly what the community chose.
Coring said Southport refused to let the tragedy divide the town or define its identity. Instead, residents responded with compassion, unity, and a commitment to care for one another. “How we responded,” he said, “is what defines us.”
Over the past year, healing has not meant forgetting. It has meant learning to carry grief, memories, and unanswered questions while continuing to move forward and doing so together. Chief Coring expressed deep gratitude for first responders, healthcare workers, dispatchers, clergy, counselors, volunteers, and the many people who quietly supported others with simple acts of kindness.
He reminded the community that the pain may remain, but no one has had to carry it alone.
As Southport marks one year since the shooting, Chief Coring urged residents to remember the victims, the families, the survivors, and everyone whose life was changed but also to remember the community itself. A community that chose unity over division, compassion over fear, and support over isolation.
“We cannot change what happened on September 27th,” he said. “But we can choose what comes after it.” And Southport has chosen to remember, to pray, to heal, and to move forward together.
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