Authorities in South Carolina said they will not file charges against a 74-year-old man who fatally shot a man he helped save from a lake, and one resident called the shooting incident “crazy.”
The Oconee County Sheriff’s Office said it was determined that the shooting of Nathan Drew Morgan, 29, by an unidentified 74-year-old man was in self-defense, CBS News reported Monday.
Authorities added that all parties were informed of the decision.
In a social media post on March 15, the sheriff’s office said it was investigating the incident and assured citizens there was no danger.
The younger man was shot aboard a pontoon boat on Lake Keowee after he and a woman found themselves in distress when they fell from their jet ski. They were not wearing life jackets.
Video footage showed the normally peaceful lake; boaters told WSPA they were shocked at the news.
According to the CBS article, the elderly man and his wife on the boat approached to help pull the two individuals from the water, however, the couple on the boat reported to officials that Morgan “became agitated and began assaulting” them.
Sheriff Mike Crenshaw said the younger man may have been intoxicated at the time.
“The woman who was with Morgan pushed him back into the lake in an attempt to defuse the situation, the sheriff’s office has said. The couple on the pontoon helped him aboard again, and the man shot him after a second encounter, saying he feared for his and his wife’s lives,” the outlet continued.
The younger man died due to a gunshot wound to his chest, according to the Oconee County Coroner’s Office. In its press release, the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office asked citizens to pray for family members of Morgan.
Meanwhile, resident Brandon Thomas described the shooting as “crazy” and “unexpected.”
“I’ve certainly never seen anything like that or heard anything like that,” he commented.
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