Here’s our bizarre boating story of the week:
On a popular boating lake in South Carolina, a Good Samaritan rescued Nathan Drew Morgan, 29, and a woman companion after they fell off their Jet Ski and appeared in distress. The Good Samaritan subsequently shot and killed him after Morgan threatened him.
The Good Samaritan, 74, was with his wife (the police are withholding their names) on their pontoon boat on Lake Keowee, a man-made lake with sandy beaches, waterfront homes and 300 miles of shoreline. They saw Morgan, from nearby Walhalla, and his companion in the water waving for help. They had fallen off their Jet Ski, which was going around in circles.
After the Samaritan couple got Morgan and the woman on their pontoon boat, Morgan became agitated and started to assault the Samaritan, police said. Morgan’s companion, meanwhile, had gotten back on the Jet Ski. In an attempt to defuse the situation, she pushed Morgan back in the water when he tried to get back on board.
The Samaritan couple then fished Morgan out of the water, for the second time. Police say Morgan tried to assault the man again, and the man shot him once in the chest. Morgan died on board the pontoon boat.
The local sheriff’s office issued a statement saying that a county judge ruled that the shooting “was in self-defense and no charges will be filed.” South Carolina has a stand-your-ground law that allows people to use deadly self-defense if they believe they are in imminent danger and they did not instigate an attack. Read more: https://www.newsweek.com/drowning-man-fatally-shot-same-boater-who-rescued-him-1689447
