Matthew Morgan (pictured) was shot dead in Adelaide’s south-east on Saturday night
The devastated woman who was left widowed when her husband was killed by police in a hotel shootout, has broken down in tears, insisting his death was preventable.
Matthew Morgan, 24, was shot dead by police at Tollgate Motel in Adelaide’s south-east about 7pm on Saturday night following a 24-hour manhunt.
Police allege Mr Morgan held his wife Jami-Lee Morgan, 21, hostage with a shot gun at the hotel but the young woman denied Mr Morgan was dangerous.
‘I watched what happened and the last memory I have of him is his last breath. He was scared. He wasn’t trying to hurt anybody,’ Mrs Morgan told Nine News on Sunday night.
Mrs Morgan is pictured in tears after her husband was shot dead on Saturday night
Mr Morgan was wanted by the police after he allegedly rammed an officer with his van on Friday, knocking the 38-year-old officer unconscious.
When police tracked Mr Morgan down at the Tollgate Motel on Saturday night, police negotiated, attempting to end the siege peacefully.
Witnesses reported hearing gunshots at the hotel, before Mr Morgan was fatally shot by specially trained STAR Group police.
‘I hear “I’ve got a gun to my head, I’m pregnant, please please help”. And her voice was shrieking and shaking a bit you could tell,’ Nicholas Perks told Seven News.
‘And all I could hear from the guy was ‘shut the f*** up’.
‘It felt like I was in the middle of a war zone. All you could hear was windows being smashed left and right.’
Mr Morgan allegedly held his 21-year-old wife Jami-Lee Morgan (pictured together) hostage in the Adelaide motel room before he was shot dead by police
Mr Morgan (pictured) was shot dead when he allegedly pointed a gun at police during the Saturday night siege
Mr Morgan was shot dead when he allegedly pointed a gun at police during the Saturday night siege.
Police claimed he was holding his wife hostage, but Mrs Morgan insisted her late husband was not a danger to her or the police.
‘He didn’t try to physically hurt me, he was saying “I don’t want to hurt anybody, I don’t want to harm anyone”,’ she said.
In an emotional interview on Sunday night, Jami-Lee Morgan said she was left broken hearted by her husband’s death.
‘I’m never going to see his face again, and being married to him was one of the best things I had,’ she said.
‘Matt was my other half, so I’m sort of left with half of me missing now.’
Mr Morgan’s 21-year-old wife Jami-Lee Morgan was not physically injured during the ordeal at the Tollgate Motel at Glen Osmond on Saturday night
The man was wanted for a crashing his van into a police officer on Friday night, during a line of inquiry at a Sampson Road house in Mitchell Park
Assistant Commissioner Noel Bamford said motel guests were taken away from their rooms during the negotiations, and no one else was harmed during the shoot-out.
The fatal shooting of Mr Morgan will be the focus of top level inquiries.
A Commissioner’s Inquiry was launched and a report will be prepared for the coroner.
The investigations will look at whether the actions of police on Saturday night were appropriate.
Officers are pictured outside the motel on Saturday night after the 24-year-old was shot dead
Deputy Commissioner Linda Williams said gun fire was heard from the hotel room a short time before police fatally shot Mr Morgan (officers pictured outside the motel)
Mr Morgan was reportedly well-known to the police.
He was released from a Queensland prison earlier this year, after being jailed for an armed robbery offence.
Mr Morgan also had links to outlaw motorcycle gang the Hells Angels, with reports his father was a member of the criminal gang.
A Commissioner’s Inquiry has been launched and a report will be prepared for the coroner
Police were ‘conducting inquiries’ at the Tollgate Motel believing the man to be in hiding at the motel, Assistant Commissioner Noel Bamford said
A Commissioner’s Inquiry will be conducted following the death of the 24-year-old man
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