An elderly South Carolina boater out for a pleasure cruise with his wife rescued a drowning man and his girlfriend after they fell off their jet ski – then shot dead the 29-year-old man after a feud aboard the craft.
The 74-year-old boater, who has not been identified, raced to save Nathan Drew Morgan and his girlfriend in Lake Keowee on Tuesday. The two had no life jackets and the jet ski was circling, officials said.
After pulling them onto his pontoon boat, the elderly couple told authorities Morgan became agitated and started assaulting them.
On Friday, the Tenth Judicial Circuit Solicitor David Wagner said his office will not file charges against the would-be Good Samaritan.
‘It was a clear self-defense case,’ Wagner told The Journal of Seneca, a newspaper in Williamston, South Carolina.
Nathan Drew Morgan, 29, (pictured) was shot and killed by a 74-year-old man who had rescued him from the water after Morgan became agitated and attempted to assault the older man and his wife, authorities said
Police respond after Morgan was shot dead on Lake Keowee
Morgan, a resident of Walhalla, is survived by his son, according to his obituary
Lake Keowee is a manmade reservoir near the northwest border with North Carolina and Georgia
After being saved from the 63-degree water, Morgan began arguing with his rescuer and his girlfriend pushed him back into the lake in an attempt to defuse the situation, the sheriff’s office said. Investigators were told he may have wanted to get back on the jet ski.
The couple on the pontoon helped him aboard again, but Morgan remained belligerent and the elderly man shot him, telling officials he feared for his and his wife’s lives.
Morgan, of Walhalla, died on the boat from a gunshot wound to the chest, the Oconee County Coroner’s Office said.
Sheriff Mike Crenshaw told the paper that Morgan may have been intoxicated. An autopsy report is pending.
Investigators also believe there may have been an argument between Morgan and the unidentified girlfriend he was with before they fell into the water the first time.
Authorities have declined to name the couple.
Morgan enjoyed outdoor activities such as being on the water and fishing, his obituary said
According to his obituary, Morgan was a member of Flat Shoals Baptist Church and enjoyed outdoor activities such as being on the water and fishing.
He is survived by a 10-year-old son.
Friends of the victim questioned the circumstances behind the bizarre case.
‘And…anyone who knew drew knows this is absolute BS. He wouldn’t hurt or attack anyone unless HE FELT THREATENED!’ Kelcie Bratton wrote on Facebook.
Bratton added: ‘He would never harm anyone who would try to help him in a situation and I know this first hand.’
After the bizarre shooting, Brandon Thomas (pictured), who lives nearby, told local news station WSPA he had never heard of a similar incident in the area
‘He was a big teddy bear inside but if you harmed anyone he loved or crossed a certain line and stepped at him first he would have finished it off. He’s not here to defend himself and the ones involved seem like they are not telling the whole truth behind this.’
Kesslin Cole, another friend of Morgan, echoed Bratton’s feelings and called out for a further investigation by Oconee authorities.
‘This Amazing man had a son who lost his Best friend & Drew’s parents will never see their son again…Many people throughout the community lost a very special friend, [and] This is all we get…You call this JUSTICE [?] This is far from that,’ Cole wrote.
After the shooting, Brandon Thomas, who lives nearby, told local news station WSPA he had never heard of a similar incident in the area.
‘Certainly have never seen [or heard] anything like that,’ Thomas said. ‘That’s very surprising, especially the area it was in…That’s crazy. Definitely unexpected out here, for sure.’
Lake Keowee is a manmade reservoir near the northwest border North Carolina and Georgia. More than 32 people have drowned in the lake in the past 30 years.
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