GRATTAN TOWNSHIP, Mich. — A Belding man who shot and killed a neighbor may have acted out of self-defense.
Robert Morgan, 44, was killed early Sunday in Grattan Township during what detectives call an “altercation over a loud party”.
Morgan was hosting a party on a nearby vacant lot he owns. Earlier, the shooter complained to Morgan about the noise and reckless driving on the narrow dirt roads in the neighborhood.
He told police and friends Morgan and a 22-year-old man came back later to threaten him and his family. He says he fired in self-defense.
“He had to do what he had to do,” explains the neighbor across the street. “He said everybody was threatened in the house. Pulled into the front yard and started threatening everybody.”
“It evolved into a physical altercation and that is when the shot was fired,” says Sgt. Joel Roon of the Kent County Sheriff’s Department. “Self-defense is obviously a consideration in this case.”
The same bullet that killed Robert Morgan also wounded Jacob VanEnk, his 22-year-old companion.
He is expected to recover and tell his side of the story.
The police will send the results of their investigation to the Kent County Prosecutor to decide if the gun was fired in self-defense.
“The man had to do what he had to do,” repeats his neighbor, “He is a great guy. I have known him for quite a few years and he is nothing but a nice man.”
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